


Welcome to the Dark Side - The Past

by englishrose2011



Series: The Dark Side [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Dominance, Consensual Sex, Hurt/Comfort, Interrogation, Lycan Heat, M/M, Misunderstandings, Non-Consensual Drug Use, emotional hurt and comfort, past mention of rape/non-con, werewolf violence, werewolves are known
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-22
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-13 08:15:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 43,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1219072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/englishrose2011/pseuds/englishrose2011
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The race for promotion in the Dark Side of SHIELD, leads Senior Agent Coulson on a collision course with certain bow carrying assassin enslaved by the sinister Project Agency. A meeting that is going to have far reaching consequences for both of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks for my Beta reader Mary for her help with this story.  
> All faults are mine

Welcome to the Dark Side

The Past

When he was twenty five Andrew Palmer had been recruited into MI6. Fifty years later – thirty of which were served as director of the Dark side of S.H.I.E.L.D and with a knighthood under his belt, Sir Andrew Palmer knew his time was coming to an end. Times had changed he mused, unlike some of his late colleagues, he was no dinosaur he could see that not all change was bad. He took a deep breath from the oxygen tank at the side of his desk and looked over at Director Nicolas Fury. The man was in his prime and he envied him that. Fury had lost an eye in service of SHIELD and had the intelligence and drive to be one of the best directors ever. But he now faced a serious challenge as he was soon to become the first director to take charge of both the Light and the Dark Side of SHIELD. And that was why he had invited Fury to his office. 

Palmer nodded at this secretary the elderly Miss Edwards to hand over the files, “That is all Miss Edwards,” he waited for her to leave before saying. “There are two Senior Agents to be considered for the role of Sub-Director, Nicolas, Keith Johnson, and Philip Coulson. Johnson came to us via the CIA, Coulson from the…… well you could say the private sector. Both of them have the potential to be excellent sub-directors. Johnson is currently acting Sub-Director after George Matthews died.

“How did he die?” 

“By his own hand.” Sir Andrew said.

“Matthews committed suicide?,” Fury asked.

“If you mean that he went out in the field with Agent Coulson, and endangered the operation through his own incompetence … then I would say that it was suicide. Since I have yet to officially rule on it Johnson was given the position of Acting Sub-Director, whether he keeps that position is open to speculation. The ball is in Johnson’s court now. He has just ordered Coulson into the field with a group of junior agents, the mission had been ranked a level 3 joint agency operation, which would normally not have been assigned to an agent of Coulson’s seniority, but it seems that Sub-Director Johnson has different ideas, and” he shrugged “it could be seen that Johnson is setting Coulson up to fail.”  
Palmer paused and took another few breaths from the oxygen tank and then continued, “Nicolas,” he tapped the files in front of him. “These are the full personnel files on both men I hope they will give you some insight into them. I hope I don’t have to remind you that you have until the end of the year to decide who you will promote to sub director.

“I could promote across one of my own candidates.”

“The ambitious Maria Hill,” Palmer mused, “I always thought you liked her Nicolas, but if you want her dead, there are easier ways.” 

“They wouldn’t kill her.” 

“Nicolas, Nicolas.” He shook his head mockingly “By the end of the year only one of them will still be standing, do you seriously think that they would tolerate a new contender in the race at this late stage? Whoever wins will arrange the demise of the other. It is the….”

“Way of the Dark Side,” Fury finished for him. 

Palmer nodded his agreement.

0-0-0-0-0

 

In the Field

 

Senor Agent Coulson stepped out of the black SHIELD SUV, and looked round the area as his team began to unpack their equipment. Unlike his agents he was not dressed in tactical equipment but a black suit and charcoal and black tie, he looked more like an accountant than a senior field agent. This mission he knew was going to be an interagency operation. Not one of his favourites, he preferred to control all the pieces of the game not just half, particularly when it involved Project personnel. 

One of the Project agents directed him to the Agent in Charge Mark Goodman. Goodman was a tall man with greying hair and a body that was beginning to run to fat hidden in neatly pressed pants and shirt, with a FBI windbreaker. He was, Coulson knew, one of the two handlers in charge of Archangel one of the project’s shifter assassins who were currently on target, waiting to take the shot. Just as he had been for the last three days suffering through scorching hot days and freezing cold night unable to move until ordered to by Goodman, the senior of the two handlers.

There was an arrogance about the Project Agents that burrowed under his skin. It was as if they believed they had a God given right to run roughshod over everyone. The FBI windbreaker was a good case in point, the Project always hide behind other alphabet agencies. Goodman smirked at him as he walked up.

Phil flashed him his badge as he introduced himself.

“So what can I do for you Agent Coulson?” Goodman drawled. 

“Agent Goodman, it appears we have a mutual interest in your target” Phil acknowledged, “I have to ask for the record how good is your man?. Because if he’s not up to standard….?” He left the threat hanging out there, if the answer didn’t please him then he was going to replace the Project’s sniper in a heartbeat, even if it meant doing the hit himself. 

“Archangel is as near perfect with a weapon as I’ve ever seen. It will be a real pity when we have to retire him but then all attack dogs have their days, don’t you think?” 

Phil knew what Goodman meant. “He’s human,” he started to say only to be cut off in mid-sentence as Goodman laughed.

“Agent Coulson he’s at best a high functioning sociopathic mutt. He would gut you without a second thought the last person he went ape shit over they had to use DNA to identify them. But as I was saying Archangel can’t miss.”

“Everyone misses sometime.” Phil said, sounding bored at the other agents boasts about his asset when in reality he had peaked his interest. 

“Not his one. Handgun, rifle, knife…and his own personal kink…a bow. He is 100 percent on target and we only let him use the last one if he’s been real good.” Goodman smirked as he said the last bit adding “you know what I mean.” 

Phil had the overwhelming desire to sink a fist in the handler’s face. If Archangel was really that good then he was an asset that should be treasured not abused and he could only imagine what he could do with Archangel in the Dark Side. 

Just then Junior Agent Evans came up and Phil turned away from Goodman to speak to him. “Evans have Kessler go up high, but keep him back, if Archangel misses, it should flush the target this way and I want him taken out, one shot. Oh and Evans tell Kessler to keep out of Archangels way.”

“Yes Sir.” Evans took off at a run.

Coulson shook his head Johnson had sent him out with a team that was as green as a infect limb and that was being polite, he knew the importance of the job and Palmer’s reaction if it failed. No one was indispensable if the mission went badly. He would be expected to liquidate his own team and even then there was no guarantee that he would survive the failure. When he turned back to Goodman the handler was walking away talking over the com to his asset, his voice angry and aggressive as he tore into the sniper for some unknown transgression. 

0-0-0-0-0

It was one day later that the kill finally went down. Phil was impressed with the skill the shifter had used, it was a display of marksmanship that few if any could equal .The man had put an arrow in the targets eye socket through a three inch gap in the drug dealers security screen. 

Phil had followed the mission closely and had listened to the radio chatter between the shifter sniper and his handler, or rather the one sided talk from Goodman, and it had angered him. Goodman had treated Archangel with total contempt. Phil knew which way Archangel would be making his way back to the extract point and made sure that he would be there to intersect the shifter. He could see the way that Archangel was walking, the man was totally exhausted from being in position for so long. Phil made sure that Archangel saw him approaching and he blocked the shifters way so he either had to stop or walk over him. 

Archangel stopped a couple of yards away from him. He was younger than Coulson had thought, he looked to be in his mid-twenties around five foot ten matching his own height, good looking in his own way and 100 percent lethal. 

Seeing the tension in the way Archangel stood Phil could see the man was ready to take him out if he so much as twitched the wrong way. It was the “you get careless you get dead” kind of attitude that Phil admired.  
He unscrewed the bottle of water breaking the seal and held it out. “I think you might need this.”  
Phil knew that the shifter was evaluating him deliberately he took a sip and then held it out again, this time the shifter closed the distance between them and reached out and took it. 

“I’ve got more so drink up,” Phil told him, even as he dug in his jacket pocket and pulled out an energy bar. Archangel took a drink of the water, and licked his lip as if tasting something off the neck of the bottle, then quickly drained it all the time his gaze never moving off him.  
Phil offered him the energy bar knowing the shifter would be equally suspicious of it so he tore the packet open and took a quick bite then offered the rest to him. 

Archangel all but snatched it from his hand and bolted it down. When he had finished he threw the packet on to the ground and then seemed to be scenting him, Phil was sure he was checking him out for more bars. Slowly he reached into his pocket and produced another and offered it.  
He was so engrossed in his dealing with Archangel that Phil didn’t heard Goodman come up to them. 

“What the hell are you playing at Coulson?” Goodman snarled as he knocked the bar from the Archangels hand’s yelling, “You don’t eat, drink or take a shit unless I tell you, remember that mutt!” Goodman back handed him across the face hard enough to make him stumble backward only Phil’s hand on his arm stopped him from falling.  
Archangel tore his arm free, pushed Phil away from him and started towards Goodman his shoulders dropping as he hunched forward, a growl resonating from deep in his chest as razor sharp claws erupted from his fingers and he let his bow fall to the ground. 

Goodman quickly stepped back increasing the distance between them as unclipping a small black box from his belt he pointed it at Archangel. The shifter’s body began to spasm, somehow he fought it and kept coming forward.  
“On your knees!,” Goodman ordered panic beginning to edge into his voice. But Archangel fought the command and the pain to try and kept closing on him His face began to elongate into a muzzle and his body began to enlarge as his muscles and bones doubled and then tripled in size.  
Goodman thumbed the power switch increasing its setting and this time Archangel dropped onto his knees and then all fours, head down having trouble breathing through the pain his body seemed to stall mid-change. 

Goodman looked across at Coulson, “This is the only thing these abominations understand” Turning back to the assassin he sneered. Crawl on your belly, Archangel, show him just how well trained an animal you are.” 

Somehow the shifter straightened up to a kneeling position “Fuck……… you…….,” he managed to grate out from a body that was no longer truly human.  
Goodman hit the switch again turning it to the maximum setting, Archangel screamed as he fell back down onto the ground writhing in agony. 

Phil didn’t even have to think about it the timing was perfect Goodman was so fixed on his asset that he didn’t see him until it was too late. He grabbed the box from the handler’s hand, as he simultaneously jerked the gun from Goodman’s holster, he backed away from him using Goodman’s own gun to warn him off from trying to lunge for the box.

“You don’t know what you’re doing” 

“I think I do. You’ve been controlling him for too long, it’s time he ran free,” Phil flicked the kill switch on the box. 

“What have you done?! Goodman demanded staring at Coulson in disbelief It was then he heard the deep throated growling as Archangel got to his feet, he dragged his gaze back from Coulson and started to back away from the approaching monster. 

“Coulson, switch it on!,” Goodman begged. 

“This is between you and him Goodman,” Phil said levelly, “I think this is going to be………… educational.” 

“He’s a werewolf damn it! , he’s……..” that was as far as he got. 

Archangel was on Goodman before the man could even start to run. one hand wrapping around Goodman’s throat, he easily lifted the big man off his feet as if he weighted nothing and held him there even as he kicked and struggled. The werewolf turned to look at Phil Coulson his lips pulling back to show long razor sharp teeth. He threw his head back and howled a cry of victory then punched Goodman in the chest. His razor clawed hand went through the man’s flesh as easily as if it was wet cardboard. When he wrenched his clawed hand out in in a huge spray of crimson blood he held his handler’s still beating heart. He threw the twitching body onto the ground as if it was so much garbage and turned, locking eyes with Phil he bit into the heart spraying blood, his teeth staining scarlet as he consumed a large chunk of it before throwing the rest of it away and stalking towards him. 

 

Phil took a risk lowering the gun. He guessed that Goodman was carrying silver core bullets but at this range he knew he would be lucky to put Archangel down before the werewolf had him, and anyway he hadn’t come this far to kill him, “I can offer you sanctuary with SHIELD. The Project will never be able to get their hands on you again, SHIELD will protect you, and in return your be allowed to use your skills.” Phil kept his voice level, not allowing the werewolf to see any weakness. Archangel in his werewolf form stood at least seven foot tall it loomed over him as it settled on its powerful haunches Phil was all too aware that one blow from those massive claws could take his head off his shoulders. 

Holding the box out so that Archangel could clearly see it Phil took one of the biggest gambles of his life and dropped it onto the ground. He brought his heel down on it smashing it to pieces. “I am not here to control you. But I know that…. ” He broke off as Archangel leaned towards him and openly scented him, his lethal claws flexing as he tasted the air then he suddenly lunged, knocking the gun from Phil’s hand and hauling him off his feet as he roared in his face.  
Unlike Goodman, Phil didn’t panic and struggle, he kept his voice calm, “It would be a lot easier to talk if you changed back.” His breath caught in throat as the werewolf placed a blood drenched hand over his chest directly over his rapidly beating heart. He winced slightly as he felt the pin prick of its claws through his suit against his skin. 

Now it had him where it wanted him Archangel leant closer. His rough tongue shot out and swiped the side of Phil’s face tasting him before dropping his head down to nuzzle at the agent’s throat, breathing heavily he drew his scent into its lungs. 

Phil had already made his mind up to make Archangel his asset and that meant boundaries. There was room for only one boss in their partnership and that wasn’t going to be Archangel. Phil lashed out with his fist and caught Archangel hard across the side of the muzzle. It made the werewolf jerk his head back, as did the second blow to the head this time hitting his nose. Archangel threw Phil to the ground roaring his displeasure as he rubbed at his face. Rolling as he hit the ground Phil started back to his feet trying to put some distance between them. Growling angrily, the werewolf grabbed the front of his jacket and hauled him upright, giving him a teeth rattling shake He lifted the agent up level to his face so that he could look straight into his eyes, looking into his very soul as Phil’s feet kicked wildly in mid-air.

“Put me down,” Phil ordered, keeping his tone level void of any panic. The bite of command in his voice made it clear this was an order not a request or plea.

Archangel continued to growl his displeasure not sure what to do. He shook Phil again his claws digging through the suit into his flesh this time deeper than pin pricks. Phil could feel blood begin to flow down his chest and saw red blooming on his white dress shirt. The werewolf became more agitated at that.  
Writhing, somehow Phil managed to twist in its grip biting back the jolt of pain that went through his body, as he pulled against the claws. He managed to grabbed his own gun and rammed it hard under the werewolves muzzled into the soft under flesh, the creature froze.

“I think it’s time I got to talk to Archangel,” Phil said biting back the pain and increased the pressure of the gun to make his point. The werewolves’ body began to contort and pull back on itself. He was suddenly thrown violently away this time though Phil managed to land on his feet. He staggered backward keeping his gun trained on the werewolf as he watched Archangel morph back into a man again. Archangel wiped the blood from his nose with the back of his hand and spat blood onto the ground clearing his mouth. 

Finally Archangel said “You’ve got a good right hook there Suit; I should have remembered it was Goodman’s gun you had first, not your own. Stupid mistake.”  
Phil lowered his gun, sensing that the critical moment was over, as Archangel continued. “ As for the offer, I am not really the joining type.” Archangel smiled broadly all bloody teeth “Good try suit but no kewpie doll. Nice as this has been I don’t think you’re out to kill me… this time. So I’ll be seeing you around,” His clothes in tatters on the ground, no longer covered by his layer of fur, naked, Archangel scooped up his fallen bow as he turned to walk away.

“Archangel.” Phil called after him.

The werewolf halted in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at him. Slowly looking him up and down Coulson reached into his pocket and drew out a card and offered it, holding it out not sure if it was going to be taken. “I’m pleased to see they didn’t neuter you, no man should go through that.”

For a long minute nothing happened. He held out the card again “Just in case you ever want an option.” He prompted.  
The card was snatched from his fingers and Archangel disappeared into the darkness. 

Walking over to the dead body Phil looked at it with interest. It had certainly answered one of his questions, if Archangel was a true sociopathic killer he would have killed him as well as Goodman, instead the werewolf had allowed him to live…… Interesting..  
Then he heard a car in the distance. Phil hadn’t survived as long as he had in the Dark Side without having a keen survival instinct. Something made him look up and across the road and he saw two red eyes watching him, then he heard the lingering cry of the wolf sounding out across the town, and had to supress a shiver. It wasn’t fear, it was something that he couldn’t put a finger on but it seemed to reach down to his very soul. It was then the car pulled up and he turned his attention back to the incoming agents.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0

Two weeks later  
Johnson’s attempts to bring him down over the Archangel incident had failed. The target had been neutralized and if the Project couldn’t keep their own assets under control as far as Palmer was concerned it was their own fault. 

But Phil couldn’t get the werewolf out of his mind the man has such great potential that he was wasted as a freelancer so he approached Palmer personally about acquiring Archangel for SHIELD.  
The old man had read the file ignoring him until he finally looked up and asked. “He ate Goodman’s heart?” 

“Only half of it sir I’ve looked into that and it’s a were belief that by eating the heart of the person they kill it’s a way of taking the soul of that person into themselves and making them stronger. The werewolf at that time was still in great pain and I believe that it provoked him to a more feral behavior pattern which would not normally be present”

“But you, Agent Coulson, are still alive? Our experts are slightly perplexed by the fact that a werewolf that has turned feral would surely have killed you without a moment’s pause. But instead it knocks you to the ground and vanishes?. Why didn’t you get a shot off at it,? you still had a full magazine when you were found.” 

“I was shocked by the sudden violent nature of Agent Goodman’s death.” Coulson said levelly, only to have Palmer give him a look of barely suppressed amusement. 

“Philip, really?, I have your file here.” He paused and tapped the other thicker file that rested on his desk “your complete file. And given the incident in Iowa with the wood chipper, the car crusher in Detroit, and the …… need I go on, I don’t think shock is a primary factor in your actions or should I say inactions. Acting Sub-Director Johnson had particularly flagged two points of interest in the report as reason for concern. His has applied to me for permission to have you evaluated by Department 8 over this matter.” Palmer looked up as he said that. One thing he never forgot when he was dealing with Coulson was just who and what he was dealing with. So when Coulson had gone ultra-still when he had mentioned Department 8, Palmer was reassured that Miss Edwards was placed to counter any actions the younger man might make with a bullet to the back of his head. He knew Coulson’s past dealings with that department and it had made chilling reading even for him.

Judging that Coulson had control of his emotions, he added “But I have turned down all requests for you to have an evaluation over this incident.” He uncapped his Mont Blanc pen and signed off on the report, “the incident is now closed.” He put the file to one side, “You have my permission to try and find Archangel, and recruit him, but in the meantime the kill on sight order still stands.” 

0-0-0-0  
One month later and Phil was no closer to tracking Archangel down.  
The Project had closed ranks, and had blocked any attempt of SHIELD to get information on their missing asset. Archangel might have gone off the radar but it wasn’t long before kills with his particular signature began to appear around the world.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil Coulson of the Dark Side of SHIELD is hunting the Lycan Clint Barton down to make him an offer of joining SHIELD that he couldn't refuse.  
> Little knowing that Clint has joined with another Lycan the deadly Natasha.  
> No one ever said it was ever going to be easy?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WIth all my thanks to Antoinette for your patience and your beta reading.  
> All mistakes are mine

Director Palmer’s office

 

Sub-Director Johnson stood in front of Director Palmer’s desk.  

“Sir we’ve received the message on the old SHIELD 28 secure network, it’s from former agent David Gates, he has something he wants to sell in return for a place in SHIELD’s witness protection programme.” Johnson paused as if trying to judge Palmer’s reaction, to the news, but when nothing was forthcoming he added, “He has stipulated that the meeting is to be in the Travellers Diner, at 20.00hr on the 18th, and that he will only speak to Agent Coulson. Johnson paused “I am concerned Sir that a renegade like Gates should ask for Coulson, they together…..”

 

Palmer raised his hand, and Johnson came to a halt mid-sentence.  The Director sounded almost bored, “Coulson was Gates’ asset for all of three missions when Agent Kent was in hospital, and there was no love lost between them if I remember correctly. The last mission they worked on was in…  Chicago, and correct me if I am wrong Miss Edwards, but didn’t Gates, shoot Coulson?”

 

Miss Edwards smiled politely “That’s correct Sir, medical concluded that it was because of the sub-zero temperature slowing the blood flow that Coulson survived. “  

 

Seeing the look on Johnson’s face, he said “Don’t look surprised Agent Johnson, I am kept very well informed on any unauthorised transmission to this facility, and Miss Edwards  takes an interest in some of our more  unique agents and Agent Coulson has never been dull. Keep me updated on outcome of the meeting?” He gave a wave of the hand dismissed his Sub-Director.

 

Five days later

Travellers Diner

 

David Gates sat in the Diner, he looked round, and could feel a cold ball of fear begin to spread through his stomach, it was eight years since he last saw Phil Coulson, and he had left the man for dead, if it wasn’t for the game plan he would have picked anyone but Coulson but….that was out of his hands.

 

The present came crashing down on him as with a start he realised that Coulson, was settling comfortably in the chair opposite him, he forgot how quietly that man  could move when he wanted too.  Agent Coulson was still wearing the habitual black suits that he remembered. But his hair was receding a little more now, which added to the unassuming illusion that Coulson liked to project which got him mistaken for a pen pushing burocrate rather than the cold blooded killer that he was.

 

David couldn’t help but quickly glanced down at Colson’s hands he wasn’t wearing his trademark black gloves, if he had been then he would have started to worry because he was all too aware of their significance.  It  had been highlighted in red on Coulson’s psych report when he had left Department 8, one of several kinks in his persona that the shrinks at 8 has marked up for his future handlers. He made an effort to kept his tone casual as if he was greeting an old friend “It’s been a while Phillip.”

 

“Eight years, Chicago.” Coulson said pleasantly.

 

David nodded in agreement, but he wasn’t put at ease by Coulson’s friendly tone, the man never telegraphed his kills, and more than one victim had dropped dead while enjoying a friend chat with him. He knew that Coulson had risen to be a Senior Agent, one of the highest ranking agents in SHIELD, and one of the top handlers, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t still go hands on with black ops when needed.  But by naming him as contact Palmer would have to keep him leashed until their business was concluded, and if his deal played out with Johnson, then Coulson would never be a threat again.

 

 

 “Somehow I am not surprised to see you’re still with SHIELD,” David said and then added, deciding to prod the tiger “who am I kidding who else would put up with your… Eccentricities.”  He laughed at his own in joke.  

 

Coulson’s tone got cooler, his neutral expression hardened, “You deserted SHIELD, Gates and went dark so why contact us now?”

 

“I have to make certain life changes, and some of my employees won’t take kindly to them.” He decided for a rare moment of honest, because Coulson would smell a lie a mile away. “It is not for me but for my family. I can’t allow them to become a target. SHIELD is one of the few organizations that can guarantee their protection”

 

“Your employees are professional killers, just because Palmer decided not to allow your elimination, doesn’t mean we didn’t know what you were doing.”

 

“So how am I different from you Philip,” he shrugged “remember I know all about you Surgeon, do they still call you that?” he smirked, “You’re what now? Level 8? Does Palmer still allow you to get … hands on in the field when those certain itch needs scratching?”

 

Coulson didn’t rise to the bait, he just continued as if Gates hadn’t spoken. ”Now you’ve decided to pull the plug on your business you want to use us to clean house, call the FBI we don’t take out the trash,” he made as if to leave. 

 

“Coulson,” he saw Phil pause and added quickly, “the information on my associates will just be a show of good faith, but the one I want to broker the deal with now he’s special, and I know that SHIELD has an interest in him. He calls himself Archangel, he has a hit list a mile long, I happen to know it includes several people that SHIELD had an interest in also the Project is really keen to get their hands on him.”

 

“Deal with them.”

 

“SHIELD can give me what I want and the Project, I don’t trust them, and we don’t have a history.”

 

“History can be good or bad, what proof do you have that you have access to Archangel.”

 

David showed both hands, palm out, placed one of the table and with the other he slowly moved his hand towards his pocket and pulled out a photograph between finger and thumb; he laid it with a little flourish   on the table and pushed it across to Coulson but then anchored it with his fingertips when the Agent reached for it.

 

“This was taken from a high resolution surveillance camera, I find it always best to put some distance between myself and Archangel he is rather intense.” He released the picture and allowed Coulson to take it.

 “The information I have on Archangel will help you track him and down and kill him.”

 

Just then Coulson’s cell phone rang, he answered it nodded once, “as you wish Sir,” then to Gates, “The Director has agreed to your terms, but we have terms as well,  you will be expected to testify at all court cases concerning your employees, and other business associates. We expect full disclosure otherwise we will cut you and your family loose.” His lips quirked into the merest hint of a smile, “how long do you think that they will survive once your deal becomes public knowledge? I don’t think that Archangel would be happy about your betrayal.” Coulson got to his feet, “and off course we have certain matters outstanding, or do you think I’ve forgotten?” David tried to suppress a shudder at the smile Coulson gave him, he had seen it before and it didn’t usually end well for the people it was directed at.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0

 

SHIELD HQ

 

The information Gates had given SHIELD, Coulson handed off to the relevant SHIELD researchers to match up against VICAP reports, and then forwarded onto the FBI.

 

He turned his own attention to more important things in particular  Archangel’s file, which one of the talented hackers from Department 12 had obtained through none too legal means.  The werewolf’s name was Clint Barton, but it was the second paragraph that had him sitting upright in his chair.  Barton’s older brother Barney had sold him to the Project in return for immunity for crimes committed as part of a criminal gang operating from Carson’s Travelling Circus. 

 

Phil’s mind went back to a blown HYDRA mission, when a werewolf had helped him survive a SHIELD attack. A werewolf that had refused to show him his human face, and who had killed to protect him.

 

 Reading through the medical section, Phil could see photographic evidence of the horrific beatings that Barton had taken as part of his regular training, to get him to submit to this handler. Medical report after medical report, said the same thing Barton was incapable of forming a bond with his handler, no matter what experimental drugs they used and as such would always have to be assigned two handlers, and the authorised use of pain sensors up to a level 8 had been cleared by Medical Director J. M Kirk.   

 

 

Looking at the  list of kills on file, it became obvious, Barton had been kept busy, with targets foreign and domestic, no matter what they threw at him, and Barton never missed.  The Project had had an outstanding asset and yet with their draconian methods failed to make the most of what they had. 

 

Thoughtfully, Phil closed the file, twice he had come into contact with Barton and twice the werewolf could easily have killed him, but he was still alive, that had to mean something, he just had to find out what, because it couldn’t be what he was thinking could it?

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

One month later, Phil had just got back from a SHIELD mission to the Great Riff Valley, he was exhausted, the mission had been successfully concluded but at the loss of two of his agents, something he never took lightly.  The paperwork had taken eighteen hours to complete, and now he was almost dead on his feet.

 

But first he needed to eat, before he collapsed into bed. As he walked towards the diner his senses still on high from the mission he could feel a pricking between this shoulder blades, he slowed and stopped in front of one of the shops, and used the reflection from the glass to check the environment round him, but came up blank, but the pricking sensation didn’t go away. 

 

Clint Barton sighted through his scope, and watched Agent Coulson come out of SHIELD headquarters, turn left and head towards a diner two blocks away, he took in the slump of his…. No Agent Coulson’s shoulders, the dishevelled suit, well below his usual standards and the go too bag slung over his shoulder.  It looked like Coulson had just come back from a mission. It angered him that there was no one at SHIELD to look after him, but then again if there had been he would just have to removed them. Because Coulson was his, and had belonged to him since the first time they had met. He fingered the business card in his pocket thoughtfully, he had found the tracker embedded in it, disposed of that and kept the card. His lips quirked into a grin, mind made up he quickly put the scope away and headed for the fire escape.

 

The diner was a small Mom and Pop business, which promised good food at low prices, as he entered he looked round and quickly found Coulson. The older man was seated at a corner table, where he could see the kitchen and the only entrance in and out Archangel nodded his approval; he would expect nothing less from his Alpha.  Clint allowed himself the indulgence of calling Coulson that when he thought of him, impatient for the day that he could openly acknowledge him.  Knowing that the older man was watching him he went over and brought a cup of coffee, and had them add a sugary donut to the saucer, turning with a grin headed over to Coulson’s table.  Instead of greeting him he just placed the coffee and donut in front of him, and gave it a gentle push .  He was on tenterhooks to see if his Alpha would accept this gesture of food and drink from him.

 

He watched keenly as Coulson picked the coffee up and took a sip, then broke off a small piece of the donut and tasted it, and gave a small nod, and then pushed his own cup across to him in exchange, as he broke the remainder of the donut in half and offered one half back to him.

 

There was a warm glow of pleasure that ran though Clint at the gesture, as reached forward and took a drink from Coulson’s cup, and sank down in the chair opposite him, and eat his portion of the sugary treat. It was more than a drink it was an exercise in mutual trust.

 

“You don’t seem surprised to see me?” Clint said taking another sip.

 

“I knew that someone was out there, and since they didn’t plaster my brains across the pavement, the only sniper I know who seems to have vested interest in me is you. So where were you?” Coulson asked after taking   finishing the last bite of his donut.”

 

“I was on the roof of the Sullivan hotel, good line of sight.”

 

“So, have you decided to come in?”

 

Clint couldn’t help a chuckle, “Not yet, but I am thinking about it,” he paused “So….SHEILD would protect me from the Project, right.”

 

“You would be my asset; they wouldn’t be able to touch you.” There was a possessive snarl to Coulson’s voice as he added “No one takes what’s mine.”

 

Clint felt a jolt of arousal, at his Alpha’s declaration of ownership of him. But as fast as it came the arousal faded as he smelt it, it had been hidden by the rich aroma of the coffee, but now he was able to savour the scent of his Alpha, he identified it. The copper base scent of blood, he leaned forward in his chair, deep growl rumbling in his chest. The nails on his hands began to thicken digging into the ceramic surface of the cup, he put it down quickly, clutching his fist then flexing his fingers as his nails returned to normal.

 

“Something wrong Archangel.” Coulson asked, carefully looking round.

 

“Sorry.” Clint muttered softly, looking down at his hands unable to tell the older man it was the scent of his blood that had stirred the werewolf in him.

 

Coulson was looking at him thoughtfully, but didn’t push the matter, for which he was grateful, wanting to give his Alpha something he said “Archangel was what the Project called me, the  name’s Barton, Clint Barton,” then grinned broadly “I’ve always want to say that.” Then he sobered “Oh and Agent Coulson, you’re bleeding, I should get that looked at,” with a nod he got to his feet, and started towards the door, his sense on high alert, but Coulson made no effort to move or to stop him, the last glance he had Agent Coulson was still sat at the table sipping the coffee, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.  

 

Phil gave his cuff a tug so that it covered the bandage round his wrist, it was a flesh wound more messy than serious, but Archangel, no Barton had smelt the blood, his reaction to it had been interesting. Now even more than before he knew he had to get some answers.

 

 

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

Two days later and the feeling of being watched hadn’t abated, but instead of putting him on edge, he it found it almost reassuring that Barton had his back. But he still needed to find out more about the Lycan world, and he would prefer not to use SHIELD resources.

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

 

Professor John Kirk had  carefully crafted his persona to cultivate the retro hippy image, along with a  back story that bore little to the truth, which made him the darling of the liberal faculty and students, it was amazing what people in the right places could do for you. The only thing that wasn’t a cosmetic lie was the fact that he was one of the top experts in his field of Lycan studies. 

 

He was busy chatting to a student who was desperate for an extension on her dissertation, outside his office door, allowing her seduction of him to take its natural course, when he glanced at this watch, he had a meeting soon. Reluctantly putting her off until later, he unlocked the door and pushed it open, and then nearly dropped his papers as he saw the man already seated in his guest chair, leafing through one of his report, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

 

 The man was dressed in a black suit and tie; he looked like a FED, that’s if the FEDs had started dressing in designer suits. He couldn’t help a shudder running through his body, at the cold emotionless gaze that met his; every instinct was telling him to get the hell out of that office now. But before he could react.

 

“Professor Kirk, I believe you’re expecting me.”

 

John Kirk edged round him to his desk, and glanced down at his diary, and then up again at the man in black.  “Mr. Somerset.”

 

“Agent Phillip Coulson,” the man corrected smoothly as he  took his wallet out in a gloved hand  and flipped it open to show his ID,” Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division“

 

“That’s a mouthful.” John managed to croak, he had heard of SHIELD and it wasn’t good. The organization was so far in the shadow, even the intelligence community though it was an urban legend. The fact an agent of SHIELD was sat in his office couldn’t be good, he had too many skeletons in his past for it to be a coincident.

 

If the agent noticed his hesitation, he didn’t show it as he said “We’re working on it.” The smile the Fed gave him was coolly polite, and John shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

 

“Professor  Kirk what we are about to discuss comes under your military security clearance, and the official secrets act 78354.”

 

“Sorry I don’t know what you’re talking about…..”

 

“Alpha Beta 19785, I believe that was your security designation from your time in the Project, where I believe you did most of your research work”, he said the last two words with distaste. “I am sure that the facility of such a liberal University would be interested in your former career, how many Lycans and shape shifters did you experiment on Professor, how many did you dissect in the name of research?”

 

And there it was again John Kirk thought bitterly, that selfsame cool polite smile, which just tells him that he is totally screwed. If it got out that he was in the Med 1 program, he could kiss his retro hippy persona goodbye, along with the grants it brought in and his tenure at the University.  “All experiments were sanctioned, and for the good of the animals involved I have nothing to defend. “

 

“I am sure the faculty will be interested in your view point, Professor.”

 

Kirk took a breath, “Okay, Agent Coulson, what can I do for you.”

 

John listened thoughtfully to the agent outline his contact with a Project Lycan, from their first meeting eight years ago to his mission related meeting less than a year ago.

 

“The Lycan would have been a juvenile when you met him. The Helsing werewolves don’t mature until they’re at least 27 years old, unlike the Talbot werewolves who mature at 21.  The fact that he fought the attempts by the Project to bond him to a handler seems to me to indicate that he had already created a bond with his alpha,”

 

“What form does this bond take?”

 

“It’s based on a connection that the werewolf feels when he is drawn to his Alpha.  The Alpha is usually older and more experienced and for a juvenile …..  John paused mid-sentence as the pieces came together. “The juvenile according to you killed to protect you.  That drive to protect you for a young werewolf could kick start the bonding process.  Then later you re-enforced the connection when you helped him and offered him food. That sealed the deal so to speak.” He paused for moment, “killing his handler was to free himself of course, but he was also facing what he thought of as an imposter. Someone trying to take a position that wasn’t his to take. A position that was already filled. Congratulations Agent, you’re half way bonded to a Lycan.”

 

The Agent leaned towards him, “you best explain the bond in detail?”  His eyes seemed to bore straight into him, as his voice dropped to a tone that oozed menace.

 

Swallowing John explained, the full bonding   practice to a man who didn’t look all that happy at the news. When he was finished John had never been so happy to see someone leave his office, only when the door closed behind Agent Coulson did John Kirk finally allow himself to reach for the whiskey bottle in the bottom draw of his desk.  He paused in the middle of pouring himself a full glass, George Evans was an old friend of his from the military and the Project; he would be really interesting in leaning about Agent Coulson’s interest, SHIELD’s interest, in his missing pet Archangel.  He continued to pour his drink, and then settled back into his chair, and savoured the rich warmth of the whiskey. 

 

Sherry Croft knocked on the door of Professor Kirk’s office, tugging her shirt down to show another couple of inches of cleavage, knocked and put a wiggle in her step as she entered. It was her screaming that brought the other students and staff running, as the girl stood there, hand clasped to her throat, her eyes fixed on the dead body of Professor Kirk, slumped in his chair, a smashed glass on the floor.

 

In his car Phil peeled off his gloves and headed back to SHIELD, Kirk had confirmed what he had thought and that was enough.  The fact that he had been one of the men to experiment on Barton had been enough to seal his fate, and his chronic need to drink under stress had been the ideal delivery system. The whiskey would test clean; the poison had been on the glass.

 

0-0-0-0-0

Two weeks later after Phil returned from a clusterfuck not of his making, but one that he had salvaged he sat at his desk with a mug of coffee reading the reports that had multiplied in his absence when there was a knock. His voice was heavily laced with   annoyance at being disturbed and that tone was enough to make weaker willed agents hunting for cover.  As the door started to open his right hand went under the desk and his finger curled round the trigger of the gun he had attached in a break away holster on the underside of it.

 

Junior Agent Clive Upton came nervously through the door ushering in another agent “Sorry to disturb you Sir, but Sub-Director Johnson asked me to escort Agent Sitwell to your office.”  Upton swallowed hard and started to back slowly to the door, all the time the younger agent’s eyes kept fixed on him.

 

“You may go Upton,” Coulson said as he waved Sitwell to a chair, Upton dived out of the room as if his life depended on it, closing the door quickly behind him. Phil eased back in his chair, his hand coming out from under the desk he had heard about Agent Sitwell he was a level 6 field operative from the Light Side. “Agent Sitwell, Director Palmer said to expect you; it seems you’re going to be the guinea pig in this experiment. I have to ask who you offended.”

 

“No one that I know of,” Sitwell said with a smile taking it as a joke by the other agent. Jasper was all too aware that Fury had picked him because apart from being an experienced field operative he was pretty easy going, and given that assassination was regarded as a legitimate way of rising through the Dark Side ranks, he might have the interpersonal skills to survive. It was then it hit him that Coulson was actually serious, and it was rather a sobering reminder of what he was getting into.

 

Jasper Sitwell continued, “Director Fury  wanted someone to come across and work with you, and I was selected,  one of the things he was particularly  interested in, was hearing your  assessment  of some of our junior agents, after all they will be  the beginning of the new cross SHIELD co-operation policy. I understand that you’re considered a hard task master Sir? But have achieved some remarkable results with your own junior agents. It will be interesting to watch your evaluation of them. How do you motivate them?”

 

“If they fail I kill them, I find that works” the smile Coulson gave him was slightly unsettling and he had a horrible feeling that Coulson wasn’t joking.

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

It was later that week that Jasper got a message to meet with Senior Agent Frank Kent; the man was getting to the end of his career, and was working mostly in training. A big bear of man, with a bushy beard,  he had a firm but not crushing handshake and unlike a lot of the Dark Side agents seemed to actually have a sense of humour and sported a Hawaiian shirt rather than the customary dark suit.

 

“I hear that you’re working with Senior Agent Coulson,” he said as he waved Jasper to a chair, and then apologised as he saw the files and quickly scooped them up and put them on top of the filing cabinet. Frank smiled and shrugged as he continued “Sorry about that. Now about Agent Coulson, I was actually his first handler when he joined us, about eight years ago. He can be a little daunting,” Frank seemed to Jasper to be trying to reassure him. “Director Palmer has cleared me to answer any questions that isn’t out of your security clearance, you might have I assume heard some of the rumours about Agent Coulson.”

 

“Yeah, there are quite afew? The one where he took down three Hydra agents with a paperclip and an ink pen?”

 

“True, I was there.”

 

Jasper leaned forward slightly “you’re kidding right?”

 

“Of course I am.” Frank said and then added “There was also an elastic band involved.”

 

“Right…..” Jasper paused “The flour and the….”

 

“True.” Franks said.

 

“That he was a killer for hire and was recruited by you when you shot him in the stomach when he was trying to escape after a hit.”

 

“That’s not true.” Frank said.

 

“I thought so I…” Jasper said with a smile only to be cut off mid-sentence.

 

“He was actually a Hydra master assassin, number five on our kill list, when I recruited him.”

 

“Right…. Hydra…. OK…...and the coffee and Kevlar.”

 

“You only need it if you run out of ground coffee and have to use powdered.” Frank said adding “Otherwise you’re safe.” He leaned back in his chair.  “Scuttlebutt is that you’re getting him to evaluate your junior agents,” he gave a shrug and a wiry smile.

 

Something made Jasper suspicious, “Why isn’t that a good idea exactly? I know he joked about killing junior agents but…”

 

“Agent Coulson has been known to liquidate the odd agent for incompetence, don’t worry he’s never taken out a whole class before.”

 

“Somehow that not reassuring.”

 

“I never meant it to be, complacency and underestimating Coulson can get you killed Agent Sitwell remember that.”

 

Frank Kent opened the file in front of him, “now to business I see I have five junior agents on my list, that you’re bringing across with  you, who do you think are the light weights, who do you think is going to muscle through the training, and who’s going to be any good.”

 

Now on firm ground that he knew Jasper smiled “Jennifer Wren, 37 is the oldest comes to us from the techs of NYPD, marked as a field tech……”

 

The next two hours was spent going over each of the juniors in detail. After Sitwell had gone, Kent got up and poured himself a mug of thick sludge like coffee, armies might march on their stomachs, but SHIELD worked on coffee. He had watched Phil Coulson rise through the ranks like a rocket; the man was already a level 8, not bad for a former Hydra assassin. When his phone rang he wasn’t surprised to hear Coulson’s voice, his former asset would be all to ware of the meeting and would want a heads up about it, so he spoke briefly, “Okay Phil I’ll see you in ten.”

He put the phone down, and then reluctantly drained his coffee mug, and then grabbed his suit jacket, on the way out.

 

Eight weeks later

 

Gym 8

Jasper was pleased with the way the training was going. Coulson was a good teacher, and his classes on improvised weapons were certainly insightful. But he also took it as a warning, if he ever had to go against him he was going to be seriously out of his league.

 

Coulson currently had one of the student face down on the mat; his hold on the junior agent was only a hairs breath from snapping the woman’s neck. “The problem Bates is that you telegraph your moves, and your follow through is pitiful, you have made no progress in the last four weeks. So a fail.”

 

“Agent Coulson, Sir.” Jasper was on his feet, remembering everything one of the dark side agents had told him, fail was a red light word with Coulson.

 

Jasper’s attention was drawn to the agent that had just entered the gym, the guy was nervous; he had quickly decided that it was the default setting for any agent when approaching Coulson. The young man waited patiently until he had Senior Agent attention then said “Sir, communications have received a message from former Agent Gates.”

 

Jasper watched as Coulson released his hold on Bates, and stepped off the mat and collected his message he  read through the text, as the messenger made a rapid exit not wanting to be round if it was bad news.

 

Coulson ignored him, “Gates has located a merc who might be able to pin point Archangel.” He pocked the message, “Class dismissed, Bates get your act together before I scrub you from agent training, SHIELD, and the pitiful existence you call life” there was a warning note to his voice, as he strode out of the gym. Jasper hesitated, only long enough to tell Bates to make an appointment to see him in his office later and then quickly caught up with Coulson. “Where are we going?”

 

“I am going out you’re staying here, Agent Sitwell.”

 

“Respectfully Sir, no can do, you’re my partner.”

 

Coulson shot him a look, “That can be changed,” his hand dropped down and brushed across his sidearm.”

 

“Yeah but think of the paperwork Sir.”

 

“TR458, even the HR554 might almost be worth it.” Coulson drawled almost wistfully.

But Jasper noticed later when they got into a SUV Coulson didn’t object to him taking the passenger seat.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0

 

The information lead them to the merc, Gates had found, when the man left the bar, he was tranqed and thrown into a black van.

 

They had dragged the man into the basement of one of the Dark Shield safe houses, now drenched with water and tied to a chair the man was coming round and beginning to realize what the hell he had gotten himself into.

 

Jasper watched Coulson, the Senior Agent, sat opposite the man, across the table; he was deftly screwing a silencer onto his automatic and then placed it in front of him, his gloved finger tips resting lightly on it.

 

Jasper could see the way the man was looking nervously at Coulson’s gloved hands then up at this face, he knew the significance of it.

 

 

 

“Look there’s no need to get upset about this Surgeon. I mean, whatever I did, I can make up for it.”

 

“Tell me about Archangel?”

 

“The mutt,” the man said then flinched as Coulson’s hand brushed the gun, the man added quickly,  “I don’t owe Archangel anything , right, he took the contract off me and it was going to be a sweet deal, I tell you what you want and  then we can all go our separate ways right. “

 

“Tell me about him and you won’t have to worry about me again,” A smile twitched Coulson’s lips, and Jasper felt his blood run cold, it was like a cat playing with a mouse.

 

“Okay Archangel was shacked up with a woman; last I heard; he and the  bitch are two of a kind. “

 

“This female Lycan  do you have a name for her.”

 

Tom shook his head, “No, but the word on the street, is she’s just as deadly as he is.”

 

 “Where can I find him?”

 

“Last I heard Archangel has a den in New York, he has been working for a team called the Firm.”

 

“An address.”

 

“Surgeon, he doesn’t exactly send out a change of address card.” The man said swallowed hard, “I don’t know where he is now,” but he added quickly, seeing the Surgeon’s finger flex against the trigger “look that’s the honest truth but Jerry Stewart he’s low level Hydra, has Archangel as a shadow for a meeting he’s going to have on the 27th he was going to use me, but at the last minute he cancelled and went for mutt.”

 

“Tell me about the meeting.”

 

The man nodded, “Stewart is going to be at the   Golden Lotus downtown, Archangel is going to be shadowing him to the meet with Rolf Wagner and then he’s  going up high.  Wagner wants minimum escorts, show of faith, the guy is old school, but Stewart don’t trust anyone least of all Wagner to play straight.”

 

 

“Anything else you can tell me.” The menace was in Coulson’s softly spoken voice.

 

“No,” then he added quickly “no, I promise you Surgeon, nothing else.”

 

 

“It’s always good to tell the truth.” He got up and started to turn away, “Oh I hadn’t forgot our last meeting, remember Milan.” 

 

The man’s face showed that he remembered, “It wasn’t my fault Surgeon, it was …,” he suddenly knew what was going to happen and began to beg “no please Surgeon it wasn’t…. I had to do it….. Please.”.

 

Coulson nodded “I know that …, that’s why …” he fired mid-sentence, hitting him cleanly through the head, the man toppled backwards and there was the crash of the chair hitting the floor, as his weight dragged him down. “I am making it fast.”  Seeing the look on Jasper’s face he added “No loose ends Sitwell, remember that.”  As he walked past Jasper he unscrewed the silencer pocketed it, and holstered his gun.

 

“You killed him in cold blood.”  Jasper had killed on field ops, but now he believed what Johnson had been telling him.  The unassuming part of Coulson’s persona was stripped back and only the killer remained. Just what the hell had he gotten himself into?

 

“Coming Sitwell.” Coulson stood at the door, Jasper hurried to catch up with him, as they climbed the stairs from the basement, he watched as the Senior Agent removed his black gloves, and it was with dread that he remembered Johnson’s warning. “Coulson always wears black gloves when he kills remember that, it might save your life, one day.”

 

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

Archangel’s burner phone rang the voice on the other end he recognised as his contractor. “Yes.” 

 

“A SHIELD agent, name of Phillip Coulson, is tracking you, he’s aware you’re currently in New York, he’s a hunter killer one of Palmer’s enforcers, out to take you down, you’re needed to kill him if you’re to continue on my books.  Coulson is going to be at the Golden Lotus with a Shield team, no loose ends, Archangel”  The phone clicked off, Archangel turned to the young red headed woman, stretched out on his bed, a book in her hand, one finger acting as  book mark.

 

“Well.” She asked

 

He grinned “that was Gates, warning me Coulson’s on my trail, seems he wants me to kill Alpha, Nat.”   Natalie Romanov, the red head smiled back at him, putting the book down as he stalked towards her, soon they would be a pack.

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

SHIELD HQ

 

Jasper watched as Coulson planned the mission. Sub-Director Johnson had stepped in and decided the mission to apprehend a lowly Hydra Lieutenant  Jerry Stewart, as a good teaching exercise for the junior agents. Completely ignoring the fact that Archangel was going to be along for the ride.  He had seen Coulson go toe to toe with Johnson, over the need to use experience level 4 agents on this mission, along with a containment core of were security, but Johnson wouldn’t have it. So now Coulson was building in additional backups to his plan in case it went to hell. Jasper was pleased to see the man was as good a handler as he had been told, but then Coulson didn’t get to be one of only two elite level 8 handlers without being that good.

 

Mission JA9

 

It was  early evening. The target had exited late from the restaurant. There was no sign of Archangel, but then Phil hadn’t expected to see him out in the open.  It was then  it had gone to hell when the junior agent Bates blew their cover. They had then panicked when Stewart had made an attempt to run. It was with a sinking feeling that Jasper heard Coulson saying over the comm that he was going into the field himself when it was obvious they had blown through not only his plan but also his back up plans. 

 

Coulson was good working on the fly; he was issuing orders as he drove trying to get ahead of the mark while the juniors tried to keep the target contained. Jasper kept back in his car bringing up the rear trying to act as back up for the juniors, and to prevent their target doubling back on them.

 

The car chase had taken them half way across the city, heading towards the old dockland area, leaving behind them a wide swath of destruction, as one of Stewart’s men switched the traffic lights, as they approached creating carnage on the streets. From the blaring horns ahead of them, and Coulson terse words over the comm, the senior agent had to take some aggressive action to keep on Stewart’s tail. The junior agents hadn’t been so lucky, so far one of the pursuit cars had been written off jumping the lights, and the second had actually stopped to assist the other one, ignoring the first rule of pursuit, no matter what happens keep going.

 

Phil turned down an alley way, it was  a tight squeeze and he lost his side mirrors but it had been worth it, as he came within half a block of Stewart. At the moment he didn’t have time to worry about Archangel. Through his earwig he could hear Sitwell trying to rally the troops to take up pursuit, even as he fed Sitwell a nonstop commentary on Stewart’s direction.

 

 

“Shit.” Phil swore as he hit the brakes hard as he came round the corner, Stewart had pulled over and his men opened up with automatic fire.

Phil twisted the wheel sending his car into a side on sliding turn, keeping his head down as bullets smashed the window screen showering him with flying glass, as automatic fire tore up the side of his car.  Smoke poured from the engine, spark flying as the car’s tyres were shot out and it ran on its rims, he never saw the grenade, the explosion didn’t detonate right under the car, but was close enough to flip it over so it ended up careering across the road on its roof until it hit a lamppost and came to a halt. 

 

Phil’s head was ringing, he dashed the blood from his eyes, as he struggled to get out of the car, he could smell gasoline, and it wouldn’t take much for the car to be turned into a fireball. He would take his chances outside rather than risk being burned alive. Bullets continued to thud into the car, as he kicked the buckled driver’s door open, and drag himself out his left arm dislocated in the crash.

 

Over the earwig he could hear Sitwell calmly telling him he was on his way, and to hang on ETA 5 minutes, but he knew they would be too late. Stewart’s men were at the car, hands grabbed at him, a grip on the back of his jacket and his good arm and he was hauled to his feet, roughly frisked, the pain when they touched his injured shoulder nearly making him pass out. He was then half walked half dragged away from the car. Stewart watched on with an unholy grin on his face, looking forward to whatever was going to happen next.

 

“Who the fuck are you.” Stewart demanded, “The Firm, AIM…..”

 

Phil pulled himself up straight, even as the world for a moment went in and out of focus and nausea almost won out.

 

 Agent Coulson from SHIELD; you’re under arrest.”

 

Stewart laughed “I like your balls Coulson, I….” he paused frowning, and peering at Phil intently “Coulson” it was then the name clicked “fuck it’s the Surgeon, been a while, Harrison still talks about you, like you’re a fucking legend.” He raised the gun he had been holding down by his side, “I get to be the man who kills the legend. I...

 

Archangel’s voice was suddenly in Phil’s ear through the earwig “You have to trust me man, know you’ve got no reason too, but I am not going to leave you hanging.” 

 

 It was then the channel on the comm was flooded with the voices of his team, frantically telling him they were en-route but they were already too late.

 

 

Suddenly cutting across the agent’s chatter was the strong, calm voice of Archangel, “Shut the fuck up the rest of you…… Repeat I have the shot Suit, don’t move, and trust me.”

 

Stewart was the first one to die thrown backwards by the impact of the bullet as it took the back of his head off in a spray of blood and brains leaving his body in a growing puddle of  blood. The two bodyguards didn’t even have a chance to react before they were dropped in a heartbeat later.

 

Phil bit his lip against the pain as he lent down and scooped up Stewart’s gun, his was lost in the wrecked car.  Just then there was the sound of another car, Phil spun round, gun at the ready, as it came speeding round the corner, Archangel  said calmly in his ear over the comm. “I’ve got you covered, fuckers are dead the minute they get out of the car.  Phil recognised the SUV, it was Sitwell.

 

“Barton NO.”.

 

“Easy Coulson, I won’t kill the kiddies.” Archangel said “especially when you ask so nicely Alpha.”

.

Sitwell approached carefully, gun at the ready, even though it looked like all the enemy was down. He saw  Stewart corpse, “Pity he’s dead Johnson wanted him alive, but what the hell, and more to the point who was that on the comms, it was then he took in the way that Coulson was standing and the anger bled away, “You best let me take a look at your shoulder, it….”

 

Archangel was back in the comms, disgust plain in his voice, “Don’t tell me you wanted to take the bastard alive.”

 

Phil turned away from Sitwell, ignoring him for the moment looking up and around at the surrounding buildings, trying to track the line of the bullets, “That’s part of the job, Barton.”

 

“Shit Job then Alpha,” Archangel paused but not before Coulson could hear a warmth in the sniper’s voice, when he said alpha, it was the second time it had happened.  Then Barton’s voice was lighter as if he had just thought of something amusing “fuck, don’t tell me, they got you working on the Light Side. That it, they have haven’t they?” there was a soft laugher in his ear.

 

The penny suddenly dropped for Jasper it was Archangel, it had to be, the man they had been hunting had turned from prey to predator, and they could be under his scope at this very minute. Sitwell began to issue orders.

 

“McDowell, get the first aid kit. Agent Coulson you need to come with me Sir.” Jasper said firmly, as he carefully herded the senior agent to the one remaining SUV, wanting to get him under cover.

 

Seated sideways on the passenger’s seat leaning forward as Sitwell worked on his shoulder, Phil could see down the street.  He saw the outline of a man on a motorcycle, he saw him wave and then the next minute he was driving away. Phil was left with only the sound of a powerful motorbike in the distance. It was only then that he realized that was when he had been hearing all through his chase with Stewart, the sound of a motorbike.

0-0-0-0-0

 

Once they got back to base, Coulson was hurried off by SHIELD medical to get his shoulder reduced; it was only then that Jasper finally breathed a sigh of relief.  Turning to the junior agents he took them off to fill out their reports, knowing that the final debrief would be done by Coulson; somehow he didn’t think that medical was going to be holding him for long.

 

The next day Jasper wasn’t  surprised to see Coulson. The other agent’s skin was pale and he was obviously in pain, and his left arm was supported by a sling.  The Senior Agent had just frozen him out when he had suggested resting up and letting him take the debrief in his stead.  

 

And that was why later he found himself sitting with the junior agents in conference room 78 as Coulson ran through the debrief. It wasn’t pretty. As he tore into them he  saw the way that Coulson’s hand rested near his gun, and he felt himself tense. He remembered everything that Frank Kent had told him about Coulson culling junior agents.  He tried to deflect some of that anger his way, “Agent Coulson, they are junior agents, these things do happen in the field, the main thing is that we successfully completed the mission, and lesions have been learned.”

 

Coulson’s voice hardened “They failed out in the field, Agent Sitwell, which resulted in the failure of their part of the mission, I had to go into the field to contain the target, your juniors should consider themselves lucky, to get a chance to live long enough to correct their faults,” his hand moved away from his gun, and Jasper released the breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“Have them rewrite their TR24 reports and Richardson; they have spell checkers for a reason use it. I want them on my desk by three.”

                                                 

 

To Sub-Director Johnson’s, disgust, Director Palmer  had been remarkably forgiving over the incident with Stewart, clearing Coulson with a wave of the hand of any fall out from failing to bring Stewart in alive. 

 

0-0-0-0-0-0

 

Two weeks later it was early morning when Phil went out for a jog. In the small park near his apartment, he saw a young woman with red hair. A dog was jogging along in front of her.  She stopped and pulled out a bottle of water and took a drink, letting him go past her on the jogging trail and then started running again so that she matched Phil’s speed.

 

“Mind if I join you.” She smiled warmly

 

“No, new to this area.”

 

“On holiday,” she smiled warmly, as the dog yipped happily at her side.

 

“Interesting breed,” Phil nodded as the large dog ran ahead and then looped round, and came up on Phil’s side, keeping close to him, with an even loping stride.

 

“Husky – wolf mix.” The woman said with a touch of amusement in her voice.

 

“I didn’t think they were legal.”

 

“You have to have the right mix,” she smiled again, as they fell into a friendly silence. Then a few minutes later with a wave of her hand she took a split in the jogging trail and the dog followed for a few strides, before it stopped and looked back at him.  Phil slowed to a halt, just looking at the dog and seeing the dark black markings on its chest and ear and face.

 

“Hawk come on.” The woman called.

 

The dog gave him one long look and then with a yip followed the woman and was soon lost from view.

 

Phil couldn’t help the grin. Archangel, it appeared.  Was keeping close tabs on him, if that was anything to go by. But it seemed as if he still wasn’t ready to come in, but taking his own sweet time. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Hydra attack a SHIELD base, Coulson, Jasper and the Junior Agents find themselves fighting for their lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks Antoinette for your beta read.  
> Your the best.   
> All errors are mine.

Over the next three months, Phil became too busy to continue his hunt for Barton. Hydra had begun to launch all out attacks on the smaller SHIELD staging facilities using shifter shock troops to tear through SHIELD security, leaving only corpses in their wake. This had been followed up with several level 6 field agents being killed by hit teams of shifters, their mutilated bodies left on public display. 

SHIELD Facility 59 Beta Stage 4

Jasper was thoughtfully nursing a mug of coffee, the last training mission has gone well, the junior agents had worked as a team, and they were now in a Stage 4 SHIELD facility, waiting for extraction. All through the mission he had heard Coulson’s steady voice in his ear, as he had directed their team. Even when things had threatened to go wrong, Coulson had directed them smoothly from one mission extraction point to the next seamlessly. He was confident that even Coulson would give them a good report.

It was then the sirens began to wail, as the facility came under attack. 

Jasper was on his feet, the junior agents grouped round him as Coulson came into the room gun in hand. 

“This facility is under attack. The base commander is evacuating all non-combat personnel. Agent Sitwell that means your team is running a fire break for them. We take out anyone or anything that tries to come through it.” 

Coulson, handed the messenger bag he had thrown over his shoulder to Sitwell, “Hydra are using shifter troops, change your magazines from standard to silver core bullets, that’s the only way to take them down.” 

The juniors changed out their ammunition and followed their SO and Senior Agent out into the corridor, the siren stopped suddenly and there was an unnatural silence. Just then there was a blood curdling howl and a wolf took the corner of the corridor too fast, Its claws lost traction and it slide into the wall with a hard thud.

Before any of the others could react, Coulson’s hand snapped out and he fired, the creature had just got its feet under it when the silver core bullet blew its head apart, blood and brains splattering the wall behind it. The wolf’s body suddenly shuddered violently and began to turn back to human. Behind him Coulson could hear one of the juniors emptying his stomach at the sights of the bones cracking and breaking as large pieces of bloody fur peeling off the body in its death throws. Until all there was left was a naked bloody man sprawled in a pool of thick black blood. 

 

“Standard attack formation.” Coulson ordered his voice snapping the juniors back to the job in hand, as he started forward with the juniors Sitwell took up a defence position at the rear, with two of the military trained juniors, watching their backs. 

As they fought their way through the facility, making their way to admin, and the non-combatant agents, they met up with some of the field agents and guards who had survive the first attack wave, and had fallen back to try and regroup. 

Now with Coulson in the lead they joined with his group and began to push the Hydra troops back, and away from admin, but the dead bodies of some of the secretaries showed that they hadn’t been in time for all of them. 

The admin supervisor, an older grey haired woman in her early sixties, came out of her defensive position behind a barricade of filing cabinets when she saw them, walking towards Coulson, she suddenly, racked the pump action shot gun she was carrying and turned fast, taking out a human form werewolf as it tore its way through the fire door, before turning back to greet Coulson with a tight smile of recognition. “It’s good to see you Sir. Computers and servers self-destruct have been activated all sensitive data has been destroyed. ” 

Coulson nodded, “Thank you Agent Coleman, “ then turning to the juniors he said “Agents Edwards and Cox escort Agent Coleman and her team out of here, back the way we came, but keep your eyes and ears open, in case any of the shifters have gotten round behind us.”

Coleman nodded her thanks and like a mother duck, gathered the remaining clerks and secretaries together and followed the two junior agents. The scattering of dead bodies round the office showed that admin had fought back successfully, but it had been hard won. But all the same he made a mental note to approach Palmer about additional training for them. 

It was a matter of taking back the base one corridor at a time, fighting their way up to medical, only to find that catering had arrived first and were helping the medics to repulse an attack team of shifters. Caught between the defenders of medical bay and Coulson and his team they managed to cut the shifters to pieces, but not without the loss of two of the guards who had joined their team. The pile of bodies round the approach to medical showed the courage of the two non-combat sections in protecting the wounded agents in their care.

Leaving them they continued further into the facility and turned into the wide central walk way between the two main sections of the building, they collided head on into the remaining shifters who had been forced back from the command area. Some of the shifters were scythed down by the concentrated fire, but the others broke through. Jasper fired point blank at one of them as it leaped onto one of the junior agents, his bullets tearing into the creature’s head and heart. The junior agent was dragged down by the weight of the shifter hitting him; Sitwell grabbed hold of the dead body and pulled it off him. The junior was looking past him, “Sir,” and pointed, Sitwell’s head snapped round in time to see a were panther baring down on Coulson, it jumped at the same time that Coulson closed the distance between them diving to the floor as if he was sliding for home base he went under the large creature, as it leaped over him. His hand came up as he fired, the bullets hitting the creature from under its jaw to its belly. It’s blood spraying all over him, when it landed it crumpled, turning fast, Coulson’s hand went behind his back, and he pulled out a knife, and brought the blade down hard and fast through the back of the shifters skull, severing it’s spinal column. Then Coulson was back on his feet and heading into the heart of the fight. 

Even as Jasper fought he was shocked to see the way Coulson waded into the dirty hand to hand fighting with the human Hydra agents, gun in one hand knife in the other. He moved from one kill to the next without a pause, slashing one man’s throat, blowing the jaw off a wolf, breaking the neck of another. When the fight was finished, the only people still on their feet was the SHIELD agents, apart from some injuries the junior agents had survived their first pitch battle. But Jasper couldn’t help but notice the way that some of them moved away from Coulson, and Jasper couldn’t find it in his heart to blame them. 

Yes they had gone on missions with Coulson as their executive handler, but they hadn’t seen him kill, this was their first look at the Surgeon, and it wasn’t easy on the eye. Coulson hid the Surgeon behind his immaculate suits, his polite if cool half smiles, and his perfected bland accountant façade. Today the juniors had seen the real Coulson, the unleashed part of him, and it wasn’t pretty. 

They took a Quinjet back to New York, Jasper spent the flight all but hovering over the junior agents, talking to the quiet ones, and making allowances for the loud ones, as each in their own way dealt with what they had seen and done, acted as sounding board to those for whom it had been their first kills. He knew that Coulson wouldn’t be the hand holding type, so in a way he was pleased that the other agent had taken another Quinjet off to New Orleans on his Barton hunting quest, giving him time to get the juniors back on an even keel. 

0-0-0-0-0

Safe House Alpha Omega 9

David Gates, wasn’t surprised to see Johnson, he knew that this meeting was off the books, and that no one would ever know the Senior Agent had been to the safe house.  
He took Johnson through to the study, closing the door behind them, the less his wife knew the better.   
Johnson said, “Coulson came off a mission and the facility was hit by Hydra Shifters, It is one of several attacks over the last couple of months, each time Hydra have used Shifters, if Coulson gets taken out by one, then Palmer will buy, a Hydra attack on a Senior Agent, an assassination pure and simple.”

“Coulson finally,” David breathed the name, there was no love lost between them, it was only a matter of time before he turned round one day to find the Surgeon stood there, and he would be in a world of pain and blood. “It can be arranged? I have some people that can handle it, how do you want it to happen.”

“I get a choice.” There was an amused tone to Johnson’s voice what made David Gates wary, the man sounded as if all his Christmases had come at once. 

“Bloody, tell them to make it bloody, and to get creative.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the Surgeon sent out on a hit, he never expected to meet Clint Barton.  
> Let alone ending up in his debt.

Phil wasn’t surprised when he was called into Palmer’s office on his return from New Orleans and handed the Sanction 8 file he had been Palmers person enforcer for the last six years. A Sanction 8 was too high for any of the specialists to be assigned to it, and in these instances the Surgeon went back into the field. Always honest at least to himself Phil was pleased to be assigned the hit. Since he had started to hunt Barton he had felt the itch he couldn’t scratch start to build up inside of him, the fight in the facility had gone some way to alleviating it, but the hit would be the release that he need, a chance to burn it right out of his system. But he knew it would be back, it always came back.

His target was Julian Walton, like Stark he was the genius behind his company, he had refused to work for SHIELD, it was a stance that Palmer might dislike, but one that normally wouldn’t have got him killed. But Walton had sold his technology to Hydra, and that had signed his death warrant, and if his death could also be a warning to Stark the all the better.

Walton was a recluse, but was due for one of his rare outings for a meeting at Stark Industries with Miss Potts, it had been reported to SHIELD the moment it had hit her calendar. The industrialist had a phobia for flying which meant that he would be arriving by a heavily armoured car, rather than by helicopter. But he would still have to step out of the car to enter the building, and there laid the weakness.

Phil planned the mission himself, knowing that any contingencies not considered could result in a blown mission and his death. He had visited the building he was going to use, merging in with other suited drones, who worked for a number of firms that called twenty floors building their home. 

He selected the sixth floor, a suite of empty offices, picking the lock quickly he slipped inside, crossing to the window, looking down at the street below thoughtfully. He pulled one of the desks across and then removed the scope from his briefcase and climbed onto it, lying flat and bracing the scope. From there he could see that Walton would be in the kill zone for only a matter of minutes if that, so it made the preparation of the hit even more important. He wouldn’t be able to cut out the glass from the window until just before the hit, in case someone came into the office. Not likely, but he hadn’t lasted as long as he had without being paranoid about the details. 

Replacing the desk exactly as he found it, even lining up the indentation in the carpet with the legs of the desk, he left the room the way he had found it locking the door behind him.

Intelligence monitored Walton to make sure that there was no last minute change of plan. Phil had ordered them off trying to hack Stark for more details, the man might be an egotistic son of a bitch, but he was a certified genius and rumours of an AI monitoring his computer systems had to respect.

Two days later Phil entered the building at the beginning of business, when the foot traffic through the foyer was at this peak, merging smoothly with the other suites. He took the lift to the eighth floor, and then walked down to the sixth.

Phil opened the door to the office, locking it behind him, and then used one of SHIELD’s quick locks on the door, to give him added protection while he was working. Putting the briefcase down on the desk he flicked the catches open. Nestled inside the case was a state of the art SHIELD snipers rifle. Phil ran a gloved hand appreciatively over it, and allowed himself a ghost of a smile, the need to kill was burning inside of him, away from SHIELD he could let the Surgeon out, and have the relief that he needed. Quickly he assembled the rife, checking the red tagged bullets carefully before loading them, R&D only issued them when Palmer wanted to make a particular point, which usually meant bloody. This was a warning to Stark, about people who refused to work for SHIELD, no one insulted Director Palmer, by refusing him, and the fact Walton was HYDRA was just icing on the cake for Palmer. 

Laying the rifle down he moved the desk back into place by the window, checked his positioning, before cutting out a circle in the window glass, a gust of wind moved his hair as he settled in to wait. Once in place he wouldn’t move until the hit was completed. 

0-0-0-0-0

Julian Walton was on time, but the man was slow getting out of the car which elongated the kill time, even with his bodyguards in close attendance they couldn’t do anything about a high velocity bullet. The head shot was insurance, Walton might be wearing Kevlar, Phil only watching long enough to see a spray of blood, before he was already turning away, within ten minters Phil was out of the building and walking away stripping off his gloves, even as the wail of sirens could be heard in the background. He walked three blocks and cutting through an alleyway, heading to the van, as he confirmed “Clean and clear,” over the com.

It was then he heard gunfire over the com, Jasper’s voice was strained, punctuated by more gunfire. “Get the hell out of there Coulson, hostile shifters on your six. Clear to extraction point Beta.”

Phil didn’t hesitate, and started cutting through a maze of alleyways. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks, dropping the briefcase and had his gun up and ready in a heartbeat. Stood in front of him was Clint Barton, the younger man was leaning against the wall, dressed in torn jeans, battered hoodie and ratty trainers, he looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He pulled his sun glasses down on his nose with one finger so that he could peer over the frame at him, the smile he got from Barton was pure sinful. When the younger man opened his mouth to speak, Phil cut him off.

“Don’t have time for this Barton, come back later and I’ll arrest you then.” 

Just then Phil heard the howling, he spun round and saw the wolves coming at him, he knew he couldn’t outrun them, they would run him down, all he could do was put his back to the wall, and fight for his life. 

“Barton, get out now, I can’t protect you” Phil snarled at him, as he brought his gun up. From the corner of his eye he saw the younger man disappear, and he was thankful that Barton wasn’t going to be caught up in the carnage that was coming. 

Tapping his com, “Sitwell, situation critical,” then he fired. Phil managed to drop the lead wolf as it closed on him, and the second one coming fast behind it, stumbled on the dead body which allowed Phil to finish it off. But the third wolf was on him, as it jumped he managed to throw his arm up to protect his throat and take the hit. The weight of the animal knocked him back; he hit his head hard against the wall. The shifter dragged him down, its weight knocking the breath out of him, its claw digging in and tearing at his chest and thighs as it worried at his arm, as another wolf latched onto his leg. Struggling for breath somehow he managed to ram his gun into the eye of the wolf hanging onto his arm, and he pulled the trigger, drenching himself in its gore. 

Pinned under the dead body he tried to desperately to kick at the other wolf. He heard the yelp of pain as he managed to inflict some damage on it, then the wolf pulled back and lunged straight at this throat. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

Sitwell and his team managed to fight off the Hydra attack team, who had totalled the mobile op centre; he had left two of his team to try and get the van moving, and lead the other two on foot trying to catch up with Coulson at the Beta extraction point. 

The last he had heard from Coulson, he was about to be hit by a wave of Shifters. It was then they heard a blood curdling roar, ahead of them they saw a shadow, thrown up against the wall, it was a monster, standing on two legs, clawed hands holding the shadowy outline of what looked like a wolf pounding it against the wall, then throwing the dead body out of the alleyway so that it landed on one of the parked cars and set off the car alarm. The creature roared its challenge, at other wolf like shapes closed in on it.

It was then Sitwell realized that the two junior agents with him had ground to a halt, Jasper turned fast as he ordered, “get your asses in gear, and follow me.” One of them Agent Edwards shook his head, taking a step back eyes wide with very real fear. 

“Fuck this, you’re with me or I will kill you, now move.” The shock of the normally polite and well-spoken Sitwell talking to them like that had the affect he wanted. The juniors followed him, as he turned the corner of the alleyway; it was in time to see Coulson in the claws of a creature from Sitwell’s nightmares. It snarled showing a mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and then it was gone before he could open fire, taking Coulson with it, and leaving only the dead gutted bodies of the Hydra attack team. 

Just then Edwards came up to him, as he opened his mouth to apologies Jasper cut him off with a slashing motion of his hand. “That can wait until later; we have an Agent to recover. Agent Edwards, start tracking Coulson’s com unit, I want to know where he is and I mean now.” 

0-0-0-0-0

The werewolf moved fast, climbing up the outside of the fire escape, with Coulson thrown over its shoulder, it crossed the roof tops, with its powerful legs it easily cleared the gaps between the buildings. Once it believed they were safe, Clint laid Coulson onto the roof and reverted back to his human form. The close fitting bodysuit he wore might not leave much to anyone’s imagination, but it was better than ending up naked each time he changed back. Putting Coulson back over his shoulder in a fire man’s lifts, he carefully climbed down to street level; in the distance he could hear the police sirens. 

Nat was waiting in a disused car park with their SUV. When he arrived, she raised an eyebrow. This wasn’t something that she was expecting, Clint clothed just in his bodysuit and Coulson over his shoulder, but she opened the door and watched as he placed the unconscious man into the back seat of the car. Quickly Nat climbed into the driver’s seat, pausing only long enough to hand Clint the first aid box from the trunk. When she was driving off, over her shoulder she said “Don’t forget to frisk him Hawk, get rid of the com unit, we don’t want them tracking us.” 

Clint couldn’t help the low warning growl he gave her at the thought of someone trying to take Coulson away from him.

“Really …..” Nat shook her head, and with a laugh turned back to the road.

Clint could feel his face going red, “Sorry Nat.” 

She nodded keeping her eyes on the road, finally asking, “He really ours.”

Clint nodded happily, “Ours and only ours.” And gave her a grin to reassure her, then turned his attention back to Coulson, he made himself bank down the anger that festered in him, he had changed into his werewolf from, it has been quick. But just in those few minutes Coulson had been injured because of him, he had been too slow he wouldn’t make that mistake again. Gently he pulled the older man into his arms, monitoring his vital signs, in case he started to slip into shock. 

Nat pulled round the back of the rundown apartment block, letting Clint and Coulson out of the car, as her drove off to stash it a few blocks away. Clint climbed up the fire escape at a steady pace effortlessly carrying the older man up to their apartment. He opened the window, and stepped inside, laying Coulson down onto the bed. He had his gun in his hand and pointed at the door as Nat slipped inside, they just exchanged a nod and he put it away. 

Getting the medical kit from the chest of drawers, Nat came over to the bed, she like Clint was all too aware they would have their hands full. Coulson wasn’t under any danger of changing into a shifter from the bites and scratches, but they could cause infection and fever. 

The rumbling growl from Clint, made sense when Nat smelt the scent of the other shifters on Coulson, she understood they would have to make sure that all traces of the other wolves’ scent was washed off him. 

Between them they stripped Coulson, with Nat laying a towel across the older man’s lap to give him some dignity. 

They boiled water and adding a splash of cold, then taking one of the flannels they used it to clean the bite and claw marks. From the medical kit she took out a pressure syringe, the first of three they would be using, and a small tub of cream, there was no manufacture’s label on it. The cream was specially made for Shifter bites by a local shaman. The bite could be toxic, and cause hallucinations and a condition that boarded on schizophrenia. The cream was made it burn the infection out of the wound, and three injections would kill the pain and keep Coulson sedated, without it would be screaming in agony as it would feel as if he skin was on fire and melting. 

Once they had finished they made him as comfortable as they could in bed making sure they had several bottles of water, a bowel with cloths in them on the bedside table, only then did they lay down next to him one on each side of him fully dressed, already Coulson’s body was being to radiate heat. Nat reached out her hand hovering over Coulson, and looked at Clint who smiled and nodded, and entwined their fingers as they rested their hands on lightly on the older man’s chest. Reaching across, Clint kissed her, and they rubbed faces, before laying down curling round the injured man. 

“Ours,” Nat said she had never had an Alpha before, in the Red Room there had just been trainers, brutal and manipulating. But Clint was sharing his Alpha with her and she still couldn’t quite believe it.

“Ours” he confirmed, then leaning down he nuzzled at Coulson’s throat, inhaling his scent deep into his lungs, no matter where the older man went, Clint would be able to track him, and find him. Lifting his head looking across Coulson’s body at her, he reached up slipping a hand round her neck to guide her head down so that she could inhale Coulson’s scent, in printing him on her senses. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

Over the next three days, Phil was on a rollercoaster of sensation, never quite breaking through the fog that clouded his brain. Later he would only remember pieces of it.

Strong arms, holding him under a stream of cooling water, smaller but firm hands touching him, a cloth gliding over his face and the back of his neck. The same cloth running over his chest, groin, back and buttocks. The touch of skin on skin rather than being arousing was reassuring, words spoken to him that he couldn’t understand, only feeling the emotion behind them, made him feel safe. 

Sometimes he seemed to surface enough to be fed, and given sips of cool water reaching out to pulling them close to him as he slide back into a drugged sleep. Only knowing, that he wanted them close. 

Finally Phil started to come out of the drug haze, and his training kicked in, he laid still. The pain was nothing more than a dull throbbing now radiating from his arm, leg and chest, listening carefully he couldn’t hear anyone, and slowly opened his eyes focused them on the man that was laid next to him, wide awake, one hand supporting his head, as the younger man looked down at him. 

“Barton am I a prisoner?” 

Clint shook his head “No, of course not Alpha, I needed to keep you safe ….. safe.” The younger man looked down as if ashamed. Phil reached out his hand shaking slightly from exhaustion, and cupped Clint’s face and tilted it up, feeling the younger man lean into his touch. 

“Thank you Clint.” Phil frowned, “feel so hot.” 

“It’s cream we used on the bite and claw marks it’s…….” Barton shifted uncomfortably, “it’s kind of special, it has burn out any infection in the wounds, but it makes you run a bit hot, so just hang in there Coulson, you’re going to be okay, the worse of its behind you.” 

Phil’s eyes started to close he having trouble keeping them open, but just before he lost the fight he said “and your under arrest Barton,” and he promptly dropped back to sleep. 

The next time he woke he was blissfully cool, and he realized that he was bracketed between Barton and the young woman from the park she was curled up against his back, Barton curled against his front. 

Phil felt the woman wake up and rubbed her face against his back her lips lightly brushing his skin, her accent was very faintly Russian, “you’re safe Agent Coulson, safe and protected..... We would not let anyone hurt you.” 

The room was dark, and since he sensed that he wasn’t in any danger, Phil allowed himself to fall back to sleep, if they had wanted to hurt him they would already have done it. 

When Phil woke it was to a persistent itch under the bandage round his arm, before he could scratch it, he was stopped by Barton’s voice, drawing his attention to the doorway. 

Barton was coming through the door with a mug of coffee, the rich smell of the beans called to him, and he reached a hand out making a give me gesture, he could kill for a cup of coffee. Clint just shook his head and placed the mug on the dressing table. 

“Later, the wound is itching because it’s working.” Clint said as he sat on the bed, reaching out he took Phil’s arm in his hands and carefully peeled back the bandage back, to show him the wound, it looked clean and healthy.

“That was quick,” Phil frowned when he saw the look that Clint gave him.

“You’ve been out for three days, Agent Coulson while it ran its course, today was the first day you managed to keep your eyes open for more than a few minutes,” the woman said as she came into the bedroom. 

Phil exhaled slowly. “Since I’ve been sharing a bed with you two for three days, the name is Phil and Barton you’re still under arrest.” 

“Agent Coulson, Phil… you have a one track mind that is the sixth time you have arrested Clint, you do it each time you wake up, and it’s rather sweet.” She smiled at him, and climbed onto the bed, and snuggled up against Phil’s side, and nuzzled at his shoulder, poking her tongue out at Barton as he growled, and laid a possessive hand on Phil’s hip, she laughed again, and covered Clint’s hand with her own. 

“Children, play nice,” Phil warned, then added “Coffee?” Wanting to at least get his drink, before they settled down too comfortable. 

Clint didn’t look too happy as he had to move to reach it, which Nat seemed to take as a win, as Phil felt her slide a shapely jean clad leg over his thigh rubbing up against him with her face, making a happy huffing sound. 

Then he felt her hand brush across his crotch; he caught her hand and pulled it up to his chest. “That’s not needed,” when she tried to pull her hand away Phil tightened his grip to hold it in place. “Look at me.” 

He met her gaze levelly, she was a beautiful woman, and he owed her the truth. 

“I am flattered, but …. It’s not going to happen, not with me, it can’t.” He looked at Clint, and then back at her.

“Oh…” Nat leaned up and brushed her lips across his cheek, and cuddled closer. 

Clint sat down on the bed, making himself comfortable as he slide an arm round his shoulder, supporting him while he took his long waited drink of coffee, He knew it was only his imagination but it seemed to cut through the last effects of the drug they gave him. Once had finished Clint took the mug off him and placed it on the floor, and curled round him protectively. 

 

The next time Phil woke the next morning both Clint and Nat were gone. There was a garment bag over the back of one of the chairs. Unzipping it, he found one of his suits. On the table cleaned and loaded was his gun. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

Meanwhile Jasper continued working with the junior agents, at the same time insisting they help search for Coulson, he couldn’t say he was the man’s friend, but he was a good agent and he didn’t deserve to be sliced and diced by some homicidal werewolf. So until they found a body he would keep looking for him. 

Getting Coulson’s home address hadn’t been easy so he had used one of his juniors, Linnet Smith; she had been a hacker when SHIELD had recruited her to get the address, and then Edwards, one of the few shifters in the service to do some tracking for him. 

Personally he couldn’t wait to find Coulson, and see what he would make of Edwards, considering the man had refused to go to Coulson’s aid in the alley, it would be an interesting meeting. Because no matter what the others thought he knew that Coulson was alive.

When Edwards approached Coulson’s apartment building, he halted suddenly, his head going from side to side as if afraid that someone would jump out at then. 

“What is it?” Jasper asked.

“Piss”

“So” 

“Lycan, piss. Sir, he’s been marking his territory” 

“Are you policing officers?” It was a woman’s voice and from behind them.

Jasper turned slowly it was an elderly lady holding a black and white cat in her arms.

He pulled his ID wallet out and quickly flashed it. “Yes Madam, how can I help you?”

“It’s about time you came, I can see him, you know, and it’s disgusting.” 

“Disgusting.” Jasper asked.

“Peeing, pissing, whatever you want to call it young man. Round the sides of the building and not just in the alleyway, you need to arrest that deviant.” 

“We’re trying Madam.” 

With the sniff the elderly woman, walked back to the building, taking the steps slowly one at time. 

Edwards, was looking past her, “look at that Sir.” 

Jasper squinted, “Agent Edwards.” 

“Above the door lintel, the claw marks.” 

When they got closer Jasper could see them, “Warning marks Sir,” Edwards explained. Once inside the building they found other marks, on the floor Coulson lived on, over the lintel to the stair way, opposite the elevator, and above the door of his apartment, these actually cut into the ceiling. All the time, Edwards looking jumpy as if afraid that any minute now a bogey man would jump out at him. Just then, Jasper’s phone rang he answer it and smile lit his face and he turned to Edwards, “It’s Coulson he just walked into SHIELD HQ.” 

SHIELD HQ

They hadn’t been in the headquarters long when talk of the devil, he saw Coulson striding down the corridor, frowning Jasper thought he could see a trace of a limp, and his left arm was held a little stiffly, but it was it was well hidden, in the Dark side of SHIELD you didn’t broadcast weakness. It was interesting to see the other agents scattering in front of Coulson, like the parting of the waves, Jasper mused. He pulled himself up a little taller and straighter, oh god Coulson looked pissed, not good.

“Agent Coulson,” Jasper called out to him, watching the other agent slow, his expression intimidating, not exactly reassuring. “Agent Edwards he….” That was as far as Jasper got, when to his shock, Edwards took a swift step backward away from Coulson, and if possible he seemed to pale. 

“Do we have a problem Agent?” Coulson’s voice was icy, as his hand drifted towards his weapon. 

Edwards shook his head and then dropped to his knees, hands behind his back, head down. “No Sir,” there was a tremor to his voice that was totally alien to the cocky younger man.

“Get to your feet Agent.” Coulson snapped at him, reaching out, only to have Edwards shuffle away from him still on his knees his head down, not daring to look up at him. 

Jasper watched as Coulson shook his head in disgust. “He’s your agent, Sitwell deal with him.” Coulson said as he stepped away from him, it was only then that Edwards ease back into place, not looking Coulson in the eyes.

“Okay …….this is a shifter thing right, Edwards.” Jasper asked, never having seen this reaction before, and trying to get to the source of it as fast as possible. 

“Sir,” Edwards spoke quietly, “The Senior Agent is marked with the scent of a Lycan. He is not to be touched; to do that is to bring down the wrath of the Lycan. His bonded mate would kill me if I laid scent onto him. Honoured is his claim,” Edward said gravelly. 

“There is no Lycan here Agent Edwards, on your feet now, and with me…..” Coulson snapped the order, and strode down the hallway, clearly expecting to be followed as he added over his shoulder “before I save him the trouble…” Jasper caught Edwards’s arm and dragged him to his feet and down the hall, before his junior agent became a bloody smear on the wall courtesy of Phil Coulson. He had never seen the other man look so angry. 

0-0-0-0-0

Jasper stood with Edwards in front of Coulson’s desk, the Senior Agent was glaring at the Shifter.

“Agent Edwards, explain.”

“Sir” Edwards shot Jasper a look and saw his SO nod, “Sir, your coat has the scent of a Lycian on it. It’s a warning to any other shifters not to touch you.”

“I am not in the habit of letting Agents touch me, so that is moot point,” the sarcasm was heavy in Coulson’s voice, as he added “continue.” 

“If you were bonded Sir, your scent would be changed you would Lycan’s marker with your own scent, and we would know that you were taken.…….” He trailed off...

“Agent.” Coulson promoted him. 

“It’s not easy to explain to a unsup,” he quickly explained “an un-supernatural, sorry Sir.” He paused again, his face showing his panic as knew he was digging himself in deeper with each word. 

“Continue, this unsup would like it explained.” 

Edwards swallowed hard “Lycans are the most powerful of our kind Sir, they have three forms, human, wolf, and werewolf, they can change fluently, their stronger, and are into territory and mate defending. We all would defend our mate but they, it can be extreme Sir. I am only telling you what I’ve been told, I’ve never met a Lycan, but I know their scent. When we are young it is a scent we are taught. As his chosen mate,” he saw the look Coulson gave him and quickly added “his bond mate, err his whatever.” He winced knowing how lame it was sounding. “He is going old school Sir, if he has been present in the hallway, he would have attacked me for speaking to you, or even looking you in the face. By marking your clothes he is sending out a warning to us all. 

“How else would he have marked his territory, Agent?”

“Err, he would have, marked your apartment by, urinated against the building.” He shot a worried look at Jasper when his SO didn’t own up to actually having visited Coulson’s apartment. 

“Like a dog marking its territory.” Jasper put in smoothly, then wishing he hadn’t when he was pinned by Coulson’s and Edward’s gaze, “I was just saying that’s all.” He threw his hands up as if to ward them off. 

“Continue, Agent Edwards.” Coulson said at the same time as he remembered an incident with Mrs Grice, another tenant of his apartment block, complaining about some pervert, she has seen reliving himself against the side of her building.

“And, I take it there is more.” Phil Coulson added.

“He clawed….” He corrected himself, “he would have, well I am sure he would have, claw marked the building, usually above the lintel, of the doors, on the side of the building he would mark as high as he could jump, so that any other Lycan…. Like there would be…” Edwards said almost under his breath. “Can see how powerful he is, if they can mark higher they might try to take his territory.”

“Like a grizzly bear.” Jasper put in.

“Nice to know your subscription to National Geography hasn’t been wasted.” Coulson said dryly. Just then the phone in his office rang, he spoke briefly. Before dismissing them, with, “I want a full report on my desk Agent Edwards by the end of the day, everything you know from the shifter perspective, any legends, rumours, everything.”

Coulson got to his feet, “Oh and gentlemen this remains between us. Others will have seen your conduct Agent, but there is no need for them to know why. Understand.” 

“Yes Sir.” Edwards said a little too eager now he was finally getting out of the office and away from Coulson.

Jasper found himself nodding along with his asset, anything to get out of the office, because he has the nasty feeling that he had been sharing it not with Phil Coulson, the man he was beginning to look on as his friend, and partner, but with the Surgeon.

He didn’t have to warn Edwards not to mention their visit to Coulson’s apartment, Edwards could be stupid at times but he had a keen sense of self preservation, and there was no way he was going to risk Coulson’s fury by admitting he knew were the man lived. People could die over that piece of information.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When an intruder is detected in SHIELD, for Phil Coulson life is never going to be the same again.

Three weeks later

It was late evening and Phil was coming out of Senior Agent Frank Kent, his old mentor’s office when the alarm started echoing through the building as the SHIELD facility went into lock down, as it went onto full intruder alert.

He shook his head ruefully, he would have thought they would have learned after he had successful completed a hit in its hallowed halls seven years ago, he would be requesting a copy of the incident log tomorrow. Stepping back he watched the heavily armed response team go by. 

Tapping in his code he unlocked the door to his office. Stepped inside reaching for the light, he was attacked, Phil moved fast and with brutal efficiency, the next instance his attacker was pinned to the floor, a knee in the small of the man’s back, one arm pressed almost to the point of breaking, his gun pressed to the back of the man’s head. 

“Hi Alpha.” The voice was breathless, but could belong to only one man.

“Barton, you’re under arrest,” Phil released the younger man as he added almost matter of fact barely out of breath “so get up off my floor and tell me why you’re here.”

As he took his seat behind his desk, gun still in hand, as he waved Clint closer with his other hand.

The younger man worked his arm, shaking off of the pain of nearly having it twisted off, and favoured him with a hurt expression playing the injury to the hilt. “What makes you think that I couldn’t take that gun off you?” 

“You can try Barton, and I’ll put you down.” Phil said levelly.

Reaching into the desk draw, his eyes never leaving Clint, Phil pulled out a pair of handcuffs and dropped them onto the desk. “If you can’t behave we can always use these.”

“Kinky……” Clint grinned and added “would it help if I told you I am not that kind of boy.” 

“You were never a boy Barton, just a smaller pain in the ass. “

When he saw the look that Clint gave him, he added “Remember I read your file. So why are you here” Phil looked him up and down noting the SHIELD uniform.

“I was contracted to kill you, I was told that you would be here tonight, that you would be working late and would return to your office after visiting your former SO. Someone knows your movements Alpha.” 

“Yet, here I am still alive.” Phil said, studying Clint through fully, “But you made another call didn’t you. Because you’re much better than that amateur move you just tried on me.” 

“It’s nice to appreciate Alpha, but my call was the only one I could make, because I sure as hell wasn’t going to kill you.” Clint said levelly.

“This person, the one that put a contract out on me, does he have a name?”

“He thinks we don’t have his name, but this contract came straight from Gates, he used to be SHIELD.” Clint told him.

“I am aware of who he is,” Phil said coolly.

Clint looked down, as he took that as a rebuke. “Do you want him dead,” he asked almost hopefully it would be a way to get into his Alpha’s good books again. 

“Not at the moment, it is part of a larger picture, but I have matters to settle with him, personally.” Phil saw the disappointment that flitted across Barton’s face, and added. “But I appreciate the offer.” He smiled as he saw the way that Barton seemed to perk up at that, continuing “and the warning. But something tells me it’s more than just that.” 

Barton gave a sigh, “Nat says it’s time I stop fucking around and start fucking y...” he broke off his voice dying away midsentence and cast his eyes down again. 

Phil continued as if he hadn’t heard him, “Nat,” He got the feeling that the red headed Russian was going to be featuring in his life quite prominently. “And Nat would be? We were not properly introduced”

Clint looked up, with a grin that was as old as sin, “The Black Widow.” 

“The Hawk and the Widow.” Phil said and his lips twitched in a ghost of a smile, his bed partners had been two of the most deadly assassins in the world, and he had survived the embrace of the Widow not many men could say that.

Clint nodded “Nat is part of our pack; she will come in when it is safe.”

“So why are you here now?” Phil filed the pack reference away for future consideration. 

“Because of you…… Sir, this contract means that it is too dangerous to remain on the outside, if I am to protect you.” Clint took a deep breath and stood up and came round the side of the desk as Phil turned in his seat to face him. Graceful he folded down onto his knees. “Alpha, my strength is your strength, your enemies, my enemies, yours to command,” His eyes fixed unflinchingly on Phil’s as he added “my loyalty is to you first and foremost.” 

Phil was all too aware of the animalistic power that resonated through Clint Barton, a man that could change in a heartbeat into a killing machine, and that wasn’t even taking inconsideration how lethal he was in human form. Yet that power and strength was being offered to him now, placed in his hands symbolically and it was something that he could, would never treat lightly. 

“You will be my personal asset, and only mine, you will train with the others, and we will work with the teams but I will be your handler, you will answer to me and only me.” Phil paused then seeing the need in Clint’s eyes added “I will be your Alpha.”.

Clint’s eyes flared with a heat as they fixed intently on him. “Yours and only yours Alpha.” He lowered his head briefly in salute to him, he rumbled contently as he felt Coulson’s hand rest on the back of his neck, and mourned its loss when the older man removed it and ordered him to his feet. Through Nat, Clint had found out as much about SHIELD as he could, he knew about the other, the one that would try and deny his Alpha his rightful place as Sub Director of the Dark. Coulson would be the bedrock of his new pack, and along with Nat, he would make sure that Coulson took his rightful place at the head of SHIELD in time, even if it meant painting the corridors with blood and intestines of his enemies. 

Phil stood up, holstered his weapon, and then tugged his cuffs into place. “With me.” Clint Barton didn’t know it but he had a meeting with the Director of SHIELD in his immediate future.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Sub Director Johnson, was just arriving as Coulson was coming out of Director Palmers office. He looked at the man with Coulson up and down, noting uniform, and the insignia of a Level 5 agent, and was just opening his mouth when, he saw the icy smile on Coulson’s face the one that sent a chill down his spine. 

Coulson beat him to the punch, “Sub Director Johnson, this is my latest and primary asset, Clinton Francis Barton, codename Hawkeye. The Director has ordered that Barton is fast tracked through to field agent status So if you excuse us… and Johnson I believe the Director is waiting for you, I wouldn’t keep him waiting ……….” 

Johnson just nodded and stood back and let them pass, Gates had told him that Barton would gut Coulson if he was paid enough money, but it looked like Gates was so far out of the loop, it was pitiful, it would appear that the man could become a liability.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Stepping back out into the corridor, Phil wasn’t surprised to see his old mentor Agent Kent and an armed guard waiting for him, or more correctly for Barton.

“Senior Agent Coulson, if you will follow us with your asset we are ready to start the agent processing procedure.” The old man was working smart; Palmer knew that he wouldn’t see Kent as a threat to Barton.

0-0-0-0-0

Over the next two weeks Phil shadowed Clint through each step of the process, he never interrupted Kent’s sometimes intense interrogations of the younger man, but all the time he made sure that Frank was aware of him, as his presence kept Barton calm. 

Phil woke one night, he wasn’t sure what it was, but he had grabbed his gun and had it trained on the far corner of his room, as he reached out to switch the light on. 

It was Barton, in his wolf form, glancing from the door to the air vent he saw it hanging open, as sure sign of how the younger man had entered his room, just then his phone rang.

Keeping his gaze on Barton, answered, “It’s alright Agent Nelson; Agent Barton is with me, no that is not needed.” Phil paused “Alpha, Omega Foxtrot 915 Lima Quebec.” He confirmed his personal code, the one that would reassure Nelson that he wasn’t being held hostage. 

Phil lowered the phone, “I would be interested to hear why you’re here, Agent.” 

Clint padded towards the bed and sat down next to it, raising his paws on the bed frame, and leaned forward.

Phil shook his head “Only you Barton, I take it this is your way of avoiding the subject. But we will talk,” he reached out and gave Clint a scratch behind the ears. With a contented huff the wolf leaned into his touch.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Clint opened his eyes, and yawned as he stretched and rolled onto his stomach, his head resting on his paws, content. Phil Coulson had taken his appearance in his room surprisingly well, considering that he had climbed in through the vent. It hadn’t taken long for him to claim half of the bed, by gently but firmly pushing Phil away from the edge and claiming it as his own, making sure that he was between his Alpha and the door, any threat would have to go through him to get to Coulson.

0-0-0-0-0-0

When they left the room the next morning, Frank was waiting for them, this time he was on his own, he saw the way that Barton slipped expertly into place by his old partner’s side, he could feel the younger man’s eyes on him, evaluation his threat value. Frank allowed his body language to be unthreatening, as he tried to apply his crash course in Lycan handling to Barton. But he knew the power was in Phil’s hands.

Over the following few days this soon developed a pattern, Barton would disappear and end up with Phil, the Lycan expert that Frank consulted seemed to think that it was a very positive sign since an attached Lycan were easier to control, and if Coulson was going to be Barton’s primary handler, the connection was to be encouraged hopefully finishing in a full bond. 

This morning Frank was nervous, he saw the way that Barton tilted his head slightly scenting him, although he sense of smell was not as strong in human form, he couldn’t get over the feeling that Barton knew he was scared. 

Who wouldn’t be today he was going to press the younger man as far as he could. So far Barton had kept in human form during their sessions, although Phil had confirmed that Barton was in the habit of changing to wolf form whenever he appeared in his room so today Frank wanted to make Barton change form. He was a Lycan, and it was time they got to see and evaluate his other two forms. 

 

 

.


	6. Chapter 6

If he was honest Senior Agent Frank Kent was worried about this part of the evaluation, he was going to have to push Barton hard. So he had picked the northern wing gym, because it had a secure lock down facility, and if this turned ugly he was going to need it.

He had worked with shifters a few times before on security details, but this was totally different, this was a Lycan, and even without Barton’s training as a member of the Project, they were a formable species, they were apex predators.

So far he had acted on all of   Dr Halls recommendations, the doctor after all was an expert but if he was honest he wasn’t happy with not letting Coulson in on what they were going to do today.  Hall had just shaken his head, and said something about wanting a true emotional response from both of them.

Senior Agent Coulson, the Surgeon wasn’t a man you wanted to surprise to get an honest emotional response from, because his unfiltered emotional responses could get you a bullet in the head.  But Hall was backed up by Johnson and ultimately Director Palmer, so he had done what he was told.

As it was he knew that he was going to have watch Coulson as closely as he watched Barton, because he was just as dangerous. In his head he ran through the list of what he was going to do, praying he hadn’t forgotten anything that was going to get them killed.

 “Agent Barton, I want you to change into your wolf form for me, so that we can evaluate what you are capable of.”

Phil cut in smoothly, “Agent Kent, in future you will let Agent Barton know if you want him to change form, then a least he can have the courtesy of a bodysuit, or are we following the Project’s treatment of their shifters.” There it was the slight drop in tone that sent a chill down his spine. Phil Coulson was pissed, when he got that way he didn’t get loud, he got quiet, and the quieter he got the scarier he got.

“No Sir,” he might be a Senior Agent in his own right, and Phil’s old friend and mentor, but the truth of it was that Phil had outstripped him in rank years ago.

It was then that Clint Barton spoke for the first time that session, “It’s okay Sir, it’s nothing new,” as he said it the younger man began to strip off his shirt

“It is not okay, Barton with me.” Coulson ordered, as he headed for the door, Clint dropped into place behind him. “Agent Kent, Agent Barton will be back once he had the proper uniform, we will start the way we mean to go one.”

0-0-0-0-0

It didn’t take long for the two of them to return, Barton wearing a black SHIELD shifter suit, that fitted him like a second skin, he stood a half step behind Coulson

He saw Coulson’s attention fix on the newcomer, and Frank quickly introduced him. “Senior Agent Coulson, Agent Barton, this is Dr Hall he will be observing this session. If we can start now, Agent Barton, your wolf forms please.” 

Frank saw the way that Clint took a step forward, looked towards Phil, and noticed the slight nod of the head from the older man as he gave permission.

What he saw was amazing Clint changed into his wolf form smoothly, and quickly, the usual disorientation of moving from two to four legs, that Hall told him about seem to be easily shaken off.  The wolf padded back to stand next to his handler, and tilted his head to look at Coulson, as he leaned a shoulder against the older man’s hip, and rubbed his head gently against him. The wolf then gave a contented huffing sound, as Phil scratched him behind the ear.  

“Can you now shift to your Werewolf form now?” Dr Hall asked.

Clint tipped his head to look at Phil, and the older man patted him reassuringly, letting him push his nose up against his hand.

 He had no difficult understanding what was being said, he just couldn’t speak in his wolf form, and his instincts were more basic, his emotions more close to  the surface, but the presence of his Alpha and his scent reassured him.

Padding away from him, Clint was about to change when he stopped, something  didn’t feel right, lifting his head up he inhaled deeply, he could smell another shifter, no shifters.

Just then a cell phone began to ring, Agent Kent, answered it, apologized and then left the room with the doctor just leaving the two of them together.

Clint watched them leave, he sniffed the air again, shifters. There was no mistaking the smell of them, and they were coming closer, quickly he began to crowd Coulson further back from the door, using his weight to push him back. He turned to face the door, his ear twitching back caught the sound of his Alpha pulling his gun and chambering a bullet.

The smell was now sickening thick and musky, without even thinking about it he changed into his werewolf form and not a second too soon, as the door flew open. Two werewolves crashed in, they were Talbot werewolves partly dressed in torn Hydra uniforms their faces morphed into human wolves, baring long sharp teeth.

The werewolves hesitated when they saw him, and that was enough time for him to attack, one of them slipped on the floor and he missed it, as he tore into the second, trusting his Alpha to take care of the other one. He heard Coulson open fire on it, by the time he had gutted his attacked and spun round, it was to see his Alpha stood over the dead body of the other werewolf. He padded over to it, and scented the body, and his lips pulled back over his fangs, he could detect Coulson’s scent on its hands, someone had given them his Alpha’s scent and sent them after him. But they had failed; he rose to his full height, and threw back his head and howled in celebration of their shared kill.

Running footsteps approaching the door fast, he spun round ready to attack as Kent came crashing through the door with his gun in his hand, Clint didn’t wait for an order all his instincts told him to protect his Alpha, and he started forward.  

 “Barton stand down, now.” Coulson ordered him.

Angrily, he looked round at his Alpha, didn’t the man understand they had been set up by Kent, he growled a low warning at him, this man was a threat he needed to take him out.

“You heard me, stand down Agent.” Coulson ordered showing no fear as he walked towards him. So he snarled again, and made a half-hearted swipe to make him back off, but there was no real intent behind it, it was just posturing and Coulson knew that.  

“Really Agent, you want to go with that.” Coulson said as he closed the distance between them until he was stood right in range of his claws.

 “Try that again and I will put you down on your knees and you can spend the rest of the day kissing the carpet.”  

Clint knew better than to disobey Coulson, when he had that tone to his voice. So he settled on his haunches and lowered its head, in submission to him.

Coulson ignored Kent and the newly arrived Dr Hall, and looked towards the surveillance camera. “Did you see what you wanted Sir?”

On queue Coulson’s cell phone began to ring, he answered it, not speaking, just listening, Clint tilted his head trying to hear what was being said.  But whatever it was, was short and sharp. His Alpha ended the call, pocketing his phone. “Agent Barton, Strike Team Delta is now operational.”

Coulson turned his attention back to Kent and Hall, “Agent Kent, Dr Hall” he said levelly, his voice low and chilling.  Hall suddenly stunk of fear, because he was just learning what Kent knew, when you looked Phil Coulson, in the  eyes it was then you knew how dangerous he was or could be.

 “Dr Hall, a word of warning, next time you screw me or my asset over. I will not be so lenient.” The warning was all the more frightening for the lack of emotion that Coulson showed.   

Now the danger was past Clint was about to change back into his human form, usually Coulson didn’t dictate what form he took, unlike some shifter handlers. But this time his Alpha clicked his fingers and pointed to the floor by his side, a clear instruction. So he changed back into his wolf form, and padded across to sit at heel.  He understood if Director Palmer was watching Coulson was going to make sure that he saw a well behaved shifter, so he left the hall walking obediently at his side, a perfect show of submission.

0-00-0-0-0

 In his office Palmer, looked up from the screen, he eased back in his chair and considered Sub Director Johnson critically. “If your plan had failed I could have lost a ranking SHIELD agent, and an irreplaceable asset. This time is seems that it was justified” Palmer paused “You can go now Johnson,” only to call to him to just as his hand rested on the door handle.

“While I applaud your attempts, to removed Coulson from selection for Sub Director. I would point out one thing. If I am aware of what you’re doing, Coulson is also aware of it.” Palmer seemed almost amused by it, “Where as you came up from the ranks without going out into the field as an asset. Coulson is the Surgeon; I will look forward to see his response. It should be,” he paused again with a smile, which made his face look like grinning skull. “Interesting.”

0-0-0-0-0-0

Later that day, Palmer read through Dr Hall’s report it highlighted several areas of concern, but the Director wasn’t interested, the two men would make a functioning team, the foundation of a strike team which would be the envy of the alphabet agencies.

Palmer blocked Johnson from direct involvement in any of the forthcoming missions, this was too important for his personal vendetta with Coulson to get in the way, and he had made sure that his Sub Director knew in clear and precise terms what he would do if his order were ignored.  


	7. Chapter 7

Phil planned their first mission together as a strike team; it was a straight forward termination of a traitor, who had allowed dollars to outstrip his patriotism. The mission had run smoothly, Barton had worked cleanly, affectively and had returned within the time frame set for its completion with a successful kill.    

This was to be the first of many missions each one designed to stretch Clint in different ways, other missions tested more than his sniper and assassination skills, they were designed to highlight his ability to infiltrate and collect data, his ability to kidnap a mark, to take down a target using non-lethal means, but more important they were designed to cement his dependence on his handler. The one thing that Director Palmer was never frightened to do was play the long game.  

Coming back from their latest mission, on a plane that had seen  better days, Clint glanced across at  his handler, Phil had just finished his report and was stowing the tablet away, the exhaustion was etched on his face, the older man rubbed at this face as if trying to ease away the building headache.  Not for  the first time Clint thanked the Lycan blood that flowed through his veins, and gave him inhuman stamina which enabled him to protect his Alpha at times like this when he was in need.

Reaching down Clint pulled the thermos out of the bag at his feet, and poured a cup of coffee it was only one step above coloured water, but it was hot and wet.

“Sir,” he prompted, holding it out to Coulson.

“That’s yours Agent Barton.”                            

“I’ve had my fill Sir,” he paused “Please.”  For a moment they locked eyes and it was then that Coulson accepted the drink, he cradled the cup in his hands, and inhaled the steam, sipping at the hot liquid, until he had finished.  

A warmth ran thought Clint, pooling in his stomach, as it always did when his Alpha accepted food or drink from his hand and he couldn’t help but thing about what had happened earlier.  

Sixteen Hours earlier

This mission had been special, he had been acting as back up for Coulson when the Surgeon had been sent in to assassinate a man who was becoming an embarrassment, and the killing had been “natural causes,” one of the Surgeon’s specialities. He had watched as Coulson had taken the man out with the skill that had earned him his code name. He had then covered his handler as the older man had completed his egress from the kill zone. But he hadn’t been needed.

During the duration of the mission, Coulson had kept radio silence, and Clint had found himself craving the sound of his handler’s voice over the coms, so when he heard Coulson call in for pick up, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of contentment sweep through him.  

Clint met Coulson with a grin as the immaculately dressed Surgeon got into the car when he pulled up at the evacuation point.  He waited for an emergency vehicle to go screaming past and then pulled smoothly into the traffic. Every now and again, he would give Coulson a glance, the older man was relaxed but there was still an air of danger around him that spoke right to the werewolf in him.  It was then he began to get the itch, it was as if there were ants crawling around under his skin, and he subconsciously tilted his head slightly so that he could inhale Coulson’s scent.  Clint tightened his grip on the steering wheel, even as his nails began to lengthen and thicken, and he could feel his fangs elongate, he found himself holding the werewolf in him back with every shred of this will power, as  he scented Coulson’s arousal from the hit.     

Glancing across he saw that his handler was watching him, an intense thoughtful look on his face, “I am fine Sir, really.” Clint said, breathing a soft sign of relief, when Coulson turned away, because if he had held the older man’s gaze for any longer not only was he in danger of crashing the car, but he would have been in danger of pouncing on him, and begging  him to fuck him.

0-0-0-0-0-0                                                                 

Once they had arrived at the safe house and the car was stashed, Clint moved round checking and setting the security measures for the house, and returned to see Coulson stood in the living room peeling off his habitual black gloves. Clint tilted his head and was now able to savour the arousal tainted scent that poured off the older man, and without consciously knowing he took a step closer to him then another one.

The werewolf part of his brain suddenly   flared burning even hotter, and engulfed  him in sexual heat, shorting out his mind, leaving only pure instinct behind.  He didn’t change his body, but his mind changed and before he even knew it he was leaping forward at his handler, moving faster than even the highly trained Agent could defend against. He caught hold of Coulson, taking him off his feet and pushing him up against the wall, pinning him there.  Not words but harsh guttural noises, were coming from his mouth as he tried to rut against him, his whole body thrumming with need and want, knowing only that what he wanted he could only get from this man.

Pain suddenly exploded through his body, as Coulson’s knee came up into his groin, and as he went down the same knee on the follow through clipped him under the chin, and the next thing he knew he was on the floor. Before he would even think straight, he was pinned face down, and a gun was pressed to the back of his head.

 “What the fuck are you playing at Hawk,” Coulson snarled at him.

Clint didn’t answer, he couldn’t believe that he had lost it so far that he had……….. Dear god no.  

“So what you decided you’ve had enough of being a SHIELD agent and thought you could take me out and run.”  Coulson said the contempt plain in his voice.

“I wasn’t going to run………….” Clint paused, “I wasn’t going to hurt you, I just needed….” He was no blushing virgin, he had felt the sexual heat of the Lycan before, but it had always been induced by the Project handlers, as a means of controlling him, but now he was ashamed that his basic nature, his werewolf nature had come crashing through all of his defences, and he had laid hands on his alpha.

“What did you want Barton, to kill me, gut me…” Coulson paused frowning “you wanted to fuck me is that it Barton, you wanted to rape me.”  Coulson’s voice was cold and calm and that meant he was at his most lethal.

“Hell no,” Clint spat the words, tasting bile in the back of his throat, even with the need burning through him; he would never have forced his Alpha. “No Alpha…….”  Somehow he must have pasted a test, because Coulson stepped back from him gun still in hand and nodded for him to take a chair.

Clint got slowly to his feet, and gave a quick intake of breath at the pain that radiated through is lower body and jaw, even his werewolf metabolism couldn’t shake a knee to the groin off without some side effect, and he slowly raised a hand to brush away a trickle of blood were he had bitten the inside of his mouth when he had been clipped under the chin.

Taking a seat at the table, he waited for Coulson to join him, the older man took a bottle and a couple of glasses from a cupboard; putting them onto the table his pushed the bottle towards Clint, a silent order for him to pour the drinks.   “Now talk to me, what the hell was that,” Coulson demanded as he took a seat.

Clint poured the whiskey using that moment  to collect his thoughts, what he was going to tell Coulson could go three ways, one the man would kill him, two nothing would happen but when they got back to base Coulson would walk away from him, or three………….three would be bliss for him.

“I wasn’t attacking you, I…..” It was ironic Clint mused he could walking into a room, kill or drug a target and yet he couldn’t say this.  “I need you Sir to pin me to the floor and fuck me, I need you to fill me. I need…..” Clint trailed off as Coulson raised a hand to stop him in mid flow.

“I have a feeling that you have jumped several steps here Agent Barton.”

Clint looked down at the glass in his hand, “May be I did, but in its simplest form, I need to be near your Sir, your scent.” He tilted his head slightly to catch Coulson’s scent, meeting his handler’s glaze levelly, but seeing no embarrassment on Coulson’s face.  Instead his Alpha was looking at him as if he was a puzzle to be solved, he didn’t look disgusted, just intrigued.

Finally, Coulson shook his head, and Clint’s stomach sank, but before he could get up to walk away from the life that he wanted to live with the older man.

“My room at the facility, I never have claimed the apartment I should have done as a level 8. If you need to be close, I can relocate to the Level 8 floor, and you can move in, the couch folds down, you can use that,” he paused “will that be enough for you at the moment”

“Why Sir.”

“Your my asset, I recruited you, and I am responsible for your mental and physical wellbeing, and if sharing an apartment can help you, then I don’t mind,” his lips suddenly twitched in a ghost smile. “Just don’t make me regret this Barton, as for fucking you.”

“I know you’re not interested Sir,” Clint looked down again.

Coulson got up, he paused “Clint,” at his name the younger man looked up, “my cellist in Portland was Andrew not Audrey……… Goodnight Barton,” then he was gone up the stairs towards the bed room.

Clint couldn’t stop beaming, he was going to be sharing an apartment with his Alpha, it might not be all that he wanted, but it was a start, just then his thoughts were interrupted as Coulson’s voice drifted down, “what are you waiting for Barton.”

Bounding up the stairs, Clint was through the door and in his Alpha’s bedroom. 

While in wolf form he had slept on the floor in Coulson’s room to protect him and occasionally sneaking up on the bed to stretch out near him.  This was different he was in his human form; everything was suddenly so much realer.

When Coulson spoke he used the same tone of command that he used over the commas. “You have my permission to touch me Agent Barton, but……….”

“I know Sir.” Clint carefully circled an arm round his Alpha’s waist and pulled him gently closer to him and pressed his face against Coulson’s throat, inhaling his scent, drawing it deep into his lungs. Keeping as much of his body in contact with his Alpha, Clint made happy huffing sounds. He found himself drowning in the sensation but just when he felt that all was nearly lost, his Alpha’s voice and touch kept him from flying away, kept him centred.

How long they stood like that Clint didn’t know but finally Coulson gently eased back from him, making sure that he knew that this wasn’t a rejection. “Time to turn in, Agent.”

“Yes Sir.” Clint followed him to bed, to sleep, nothing more but for the moment it was more than enough for him.

0-0-0-0-0

Sixteen hours later

SHIELD HQ

Once they had landed and on their  way to Coulson’s office Clint couldn’t help himself from prowling in front of his handler, partly turned into his werewolf form, a rumbling growl spilling from his lips every time he saw another agent, a warning for them to get out of their way.  

At the door to the office he stood to one side to allow Coulson to enter, then took one last look round before he followed him into the office, as soon as he was inside the door locked behind him.   

Once there he prowled up and down the room unable to settle, Coulson looked up from his computer as it booted up, and pinned him with a gaze, and snapped his fingers and pointed to the floor by the side of his desk.

Clint gracefully dropped to his knees in front of his handler and moved forward slightly so Coulson’s knees bracketed his shoulders. Surrounded by his Alpha the tension slowly eased from him as Coulson petted him, running fingers through his hair and then circles his throat with a hand gently rubbing the skin with his thumb.

“As nice as this might be Agent haven’t you forgotten something?” Coulson paused and then added “your report.”

“No….” Clint said starting to protest as Coulson pulled back from him, then he saw Coulson’s eyebrow lift and quickly added “Sorry Sir,” lowering his head.

“Agent Barton, look at me. I always want you to look at me when I am talking to you.”  Coulson took the Stark tablet from his desk and handed it to him, as he added. “I want a full report on our mission before you leave this office.”  

Clint gave a sigh, “But Sir, I was only back up on this one, I…” he trailed off as Coulson just looked at him, “Yes Sir, sorry Sir.” He accepted the tablet and got gracefully back to his feet and sat down on the couch that took up one side of the office, making himself comfortable, and opened up the menu on the tablet and selected the form template he needed.

Unconsciously they had begun a pattern that was to be the hallmark of their working relationship. 


	8. Chapter 8

Clint still had some classes with the junior agents taking the ones that Coulson cherry picked for him to complete his training.  Agent Instructor Jeff Williams had been taken the class that day and Clint had butted heads with him, several times during the course of the day, the man treated him like an uneducated hick, making fun of his lack of formal education, so Clint played the ignorant carnie to the hilt driving the man almost to violence.

It was with a grin that he put his tray down on the table and swung himself into a seat at the table with Jenny Turner and Marc Bugg, the two were older than the usual intake of agents, being in their late thirties, Turner communication and Bugg logistics.  They had been among the first of the juniors to speak to him, and treat him like a human being and not a freak, they didn’t seem to be frightened of his reputation, and they had turned into true friends.

0-0-0-0-0

Two Weeks later

Jenny and Marc were told to report to Senior Agent Coulson’s office, frantically they tried to work out what they had done to appear on his radar, sure Coulson was one of the best handlers at SHIELD, but there were too many rumours about him to make them comfortable.  One that made the rounds of the Junior Agents was how he killed some of his own agents because of their incompetence, and how they knew it was him because he had sent a signed condolence card each time; another was how he had killed some Hydra agents with a paperclip.  Now here they were facing him across the desk and his fingers were lightly resting on their files, and the temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

One hour later, Coulson sent them away to discuss his proposition; he had told them exactly what he would expect if they joined his team.  Agent Barton was an assassin, and that meant they would be working black ops with him as well as vanilla ops.  Once they became part of Strike Team Delta, they wouldn’t be able to leave the team unless Coulson allowed it, a slightly frightening prospect.  

Bugg and Turner were just coming back to give Coulson his answer when  they saw Clint  frogmarched into his handlers office by SHIELD security, she gave Marc a worried look, no matter what Clint said about Coulson, that man was still a Senior Agent with a reputation that claimed he was one step from a legalized  serial killer.  So when Marc tried to tug her away, she had snapped at him, “So excuse me if I am worried about Clint, that man is a monster, you know that.”

“Yet that’s the same monster that we are signing on to work with, Jenny.”  Marc said, before adding “It’s not like we have much choice, if it’s between Sitwell and Coulson, with Coulson we have a better chance of actually retiring.” He paused “If he doesn’t kill us first.”

Just then the door opened and security came out, she saw Clint knelt at Coulson’s feet. At that moment Coulson looked up, his eyes ice cold and she couldn’t resist the shiver that ran down her spine.  The Senior Agent walked round Clint and closed the door in their faces, and she heard the door lock shut. She didn’t know what was happening behind that closed door, but she didn’t like it. When the door finally opened again, Clint came out looking downcast.

Coulson was stood at the door, “Agents Turner and Bugg, you have an answer for me.”

“Yes Sir.” Jenny said, following Marc into the office, pausing only long enough to lightly touch Clint’s arm in trying to reassure him as they passed.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Getting through SHIELD training wasn’t easy, but working for Coulson, Jenny and Marc had made the jump to intermediate grade agents, just one step short of full agent status, after running several missions with him. The missions were of a go in, grab and return type, pure milk runs to allow him to calibre his new team. But even so they still had courses to attend, and the junior agent pool was getting smaller, the stress level was getting higher, so it made sense when Marc found a nice chill out tavern with good beer, a great dartboard and a pool table, that he invited all his friends, including Clint to this peaceful haven.

To begin with they were all a little leery around Clint, she could understand that because no matter how you dressed it up, he was a killer, he could take a life without it affecting him, he didn’t take to the bottle, or spend time with a shrink to get through the trauma, but even so it didn’t take long before he had won them over and had their table rocking with laughter.   

Clint joined them most nights when they went to the tavern, sometime he would come over to chat, with a stunning red head on his arm, called Natasha, then the two of them would go off to their own table and talk the night away.

Tonight at the tavern the place was really full and rocking, it had been a hard couple of days at SHIELD, and the junior and intermediate agents had been faced with a bank of test that had pushed them to their limits. This night was to celebrate getting through the tests and to mourn the loss of the agents that had failed and be forced to leave SHIELD. Toasts had been made in their names, and good times relived.

It was then she noticed the some of the other agents had a look of total disbelief on their faces, turning she saw Clint threading his way through the crowd towards them, she smiled and started to wave him over, when she saw the man following him. Coulson, hell he had brought Coulson to their tavern, this was off site there was no need to unless there was a lot more going on than just handler and asset.  She prided herself on the fact that her smile hadn’t faltered too much, but she saw the hurt look on Clint’s face and knew that he had seen it.   She mouthed a sorry to him, and then ushered them into the empty seats, even as a few people on adjacent tables got up and headed discreetly but speedily for the nearest exit.

Jenny always tried to be honest with herself, and the truth was she still found Coulson unnerving, but she was gradually getting use to him, he had a dry sense of humour, and no one could hear him and Clint on the coms without wanting to laugh. She could respect the man for the professional he was, so when he appeared at their table that night, she welcomed him but always at the back of her mind was the fact who and what he was.

It took a little while but slowly the table regained its level of laughter, and Coulson that was the weird part of it, he seemed to just melt into the background, and it was a shock when he did talk, because he suddenly dominated the table, and then slides back into the background again. She got the uneasy feeling, she couldn’t explain it, the nearest she got was that he was shapeshifted, only he didn’t turn into a wolf or a bear, he could change from the bland pencil pusher persona into his ruthless cold blooded agent persona smoothly and effortlessly, which allowed him to dominate or blend in as needed.

 

0-0-0-0-0-0

Sub Director Johnson had been biding his time, Director Palmer had made it clear that he had plans for Coulson and Barton and that he wouldn’t take kindly to any attempt to derail it. Palmer had finally ruled that Coulson’s killing of his superior had been sound, and therefore there was no reason that he couldn’t be made Sub Director, in one fail swoop levelling the playing field between them.

Gates had been useless, Johnson mused as he sat at this desk, the man was in a safe house and any contacts he had where either dead now or behind bars, the FBI might still have a use for him but  he was no longer of use to him.

The agent who had come to see him, was the last person he had expected, but the information that he had given him, and the carefully thought out plan, was perfect. He would take Coulson out of the running for Sub Director and out of SHIELD legally and into the hell whole that was the Fridge or even better has him executed. Now all he had to do was speak to Dr Hall, and he would use that man as his stalking horse, he was the expert after all.  

Leaning forward he powered up his encrypted laptop and slipped the USB stick the agent had given him into the computer and sat back and watched the video feed the man had recorded. Slowly he began to smile.  

0-0-0-0-0

Johnson waited a little while before he spoken to Hall, and made sure the man would back him, and then went to see Palmer, and outlined their concerns, and how they were rooted in the francization rules of the dark side of SHIELD.

Handlers were charged with keeping their assets in peak condition, SHIELD took on some agents that the other alphabet agencies wouldn’t touch because of their personal needs. Those agents had it clearly flagged on their files, the sexual needs were met by their handlers, no one was forced to do it, and if a handler was unwilling then Dr King and her unit would take over. Her unit had men and women, who outside of SHIELD would have been high class prostitutes; only at SHIELD they carried some of the   highest clearance level so they could deal with all levels of agent’s needs, both emotional and physical.

The amount of assets that needed this relief was small; so far Barton’s file hadn’t been flagged for intimate care, so if Coulson was forcing Barton to submit to him sexually, he was breaking one of the first rules that the asset had to register his or her interest with Dr King.  Only after registration could Coulson have sex with him, otherwise it would be viewed as acting inappropriately with his asset, and using his power as Barton’s handler to dominate him.  But in this case it could be argued that he was doing this to turn Barton into his own personal pet, a pet that in time could lead the shifter element of SHIELD as their Apex Alpha, then it could become dangerous.  It not only upset the balance between handler and asset, but it risked the command structure of SHIELD. As the man holding the leash of the SHIELD pack   Apex Alpha, Coulson then had the rapid response assault teams, the elite of the elite kneeling at his feet.  SHIELD’s own Praetorian Guard at his command.

Given Coulson’s ability to plan and manipulate and play the long game, it was important that they knew what he was doing, did he have designs on being a future Director or was he just a handler taking inappropriate sexual advantage of his asset for his own pleasure.

Palmer seemed almost amused by his findings, as if this was some game being acted out for his entertainment.  “I would suggest that you consider what you are going to do very carefully.”

“Sir, given Agent Coulson’s advancement through SHIELD and the perchance of his superiors to die of natural causes, I believe that we have to take this threat seriously.

Palmer all but crackled as he said “Is Coulson frightening you Johnson, scared the man will take your job.

“No Sir, the threat is to the new SHIELD, and therefore I want permission to interrogate him.” He paused as if considering what he was about to ask for, when in reality it was all planned out.

“Given his training Sir, I believe that we must use the Machine on him.”

Palmer looked thoughtfully; you have until Thursday the 28th at 10.00 am. At which time you will present your findings to me. I will expect Drs Mason and Hall to be present as well. Oh and Johnson if you’re wrong,” Palmer didn’t have to finish the sentence, the clock was running he had only two weeks.

0-0-0-0-0

5.00 am the next morning on the Flight Pad

Clint wasn’t happy as he boarded the Quinjet, he was being sent on a mission with Agent Thomas Wilson, it was a stripped mission, and SHIELD was sending them out with minimum equipment and back up.  To make matters worse he didn’t even have Coulson at his back, his handler had another mission to work on, and Clint hated working without him.

Before he flew out, he had been able to speak to Jenny Turner, and the woman had agreed to keep an eye on his Alpha, it wasn’t that Coulson couldn’t look after himself, it was just he would work himself to a frazzle given the chance.  

It was two days later Jenny, Marc and ten other agents had flown out with Agent Morgan, with Coulson along for a supervisory overview. It was  over the next few days that the  mission had started to go sour, Morgan might be good, but he was out of his league, and it has taken Coulson’s appearance in the field yet again with a totally out of the box  plan that had gotten them out alive and with a completed mission.

But Coulson hadn’t got away scot free, he had taken a bullet to the leg during a bloody firefight and a piece of shrapnel to his arm when a grenade had exploded wiping out one of their cars, she and Marc had given him emergency medical aid and hadn’t allowed themselves to relax until he was handed over to the medical team on the evacuation Quinjet.

Once they got  back to base they had been shepherded away by Sitwell to fill in their after action reports, and then after a quick meal had turned in for the night, it was 24 hours later that they realized that Strike Team Delta was missing its handler.  


	9. Chapter 9

IC BX9 Lock Down

Phil woke in pain, and running a low grade fever, instead of being in medical he was in the IC Bx9, knows to everyone as the Ice Box, the most secure of the lock down facilities outside of the Fridge. He had been stripped naked, expect for adhesive pads to his leg and arm to cover his wounds, the cell was chilly and he tried to suppress a shiver. There was only one blanket, and he wrapped himself up in it, but it couldn’t stop the tremors. The bright light and the white walls made the room unforgiving; he knew what they were planning to do to him. He had been here before when he had first started at SHIELD, the difference was that SHIELD would have to be even more adventurous if they wanted to break him, with the training they had given him, and his Hydra training it wouldn’t be easy. But in the Ice Box anything went.

The initial interrogation  was led by Agent Inspectors Toby Martin and Linda Barr. If Martin through that keeping him cold and naked and using a female interrogator  would put him at a disadvantage they certainly didn’t know him, and he had gone through a hell of a lot more than that over the years. Then the door behind them opened and Dr Mason walked in, he was head of Psych Department 8, and Phil knew then what was going to happen next.

He was human enough, to feel an icy touch of fear as he was led, naked and handcuffed to the Machine; they had used it when he had first joined SHIELD to see if he had any deep seated Hydra programming. It had been a living hell; the machine had made his memories a physical experience. They had taken him through a torture session from when he had been caught by a split cell of Hydra, who had a serious beef with him, the machine had made him feel every minute of it, the electric shock treatment, the rapes used to try and  break him and the beatings. He had ended up screaming himself raw, struggling to free himself from the images in his head, but he had been unable to escape. Suddenly Frank Kent had been there to save him from its brutal excesses, but this time he knew there would be no reprise, especially as he looked towards the viewing gallery and saw Johnson looking down at him.

The guards forced him down onto the table, on his back, his arms and legs strapped down, there was a soft whirl and his limbs were spread out as his legs were pulled wide his arms up level with his shoulders, as a thick restraint was looped round his throat.  Like this he was spread open and vulnerable, the machines operators moved round him as if he wasn’t there. Before the machine hood was pulled into place intravenous lines were attached to him pumping ITV93B a hallucinogen which when coupled with the other drug BM7895 would give him the living hell he knew was coming.  The hood of the machine was then brought round to encase his head, now in darkness, all he could feel was their hands on his body as they prepped him. Phil’s breath caught in his throat as a cold, slick probe was pushed up inside of him, and a  sensory sheath was pulled on his cock as other sensors where attached to his chest, fingers and feet. 

Through the hood he could hear Dr Mason’s voice droning away, he tried to block it out, and then the machine started, and it was like an electric current running though him and he cried out as his body tried to arch away from the examination bed.  But the restraints held him too tightly. The drugs began to work against him as Dr Mason prompted him, trying to induce memories that they would use to calibrate the machine, as they tried to match them against memories already on file.

In the  gallery overlooking the machine  Johnson was sipping a cup of coffee, as Coulson’s memories played out in front of him on a large screen, it was like watching a slightly out of phase television.

He wanted results and he wasn’t too happy when the first session was called to halt and Coulson was no nearer to breaking then when he had first been strapped into the machine. But Mason tried to reassure them it was early days, but Johnson just walked away, didn’t’ the old idiot known they were on a deadline.

0-0-0-0-0-0

 

How many days he spent with the machine, Phil never knew, his mind was being pulled back and forward through his memories, all the time he fought to keep any thought of Clint pushed back where it couldn’t be read. He wasn’t going to give them any reason to hook his asset up the machine.

Each session was the same; Martin and Barr would go over Barton’s time in SHIELD, in particular the time he had been seen kneeling to him. The allegations that he had forced him, and debased the younger man, the thought of doing that soured Phil’s stomach. He had strong feelings for his asset, it wasn’t just his body that had attracted him, it was his strength of will to survive and his personality, sure he could be smart mouthed, loud and obnoxious when he wanted. But he was also kind and loving, and it was getting harder to share his bed at night with Clint’s body pressed so close and trusting against him and not give himself over his needs. But he refuse himself because what Clint needed was a handler, and Alpha he could trust, not a lover, even though Clint had at times begged him to fuck him.

Phil hung onto those thoughts, at the same time not understanding that the machine was digging deeper and that his dreams were coming forward as false memories.

In his dream fantasy, he was back in the safe house, but this time when Clint pounced on him, he had forced the younger man down on his knees, reaching down he had cupped his face, brushing his thumb across his warm lips, until it slipped into his mouth, and Clint had sucked on it, all the time those beautiful eyes of his had looked up at him, begging needing more. It had been so easy then to unzip himself and Clint had been so eager to take his cock, his mouth had been so warm and wet round him……………..  Phil screamed Noooooo.

Crushing the memory, no that was wrong, that hadn’t happened. He had understood Clint’s need to mate hadn’t had anything to do with him other than the fact he was his alpha. It was just a hardwired part of Lycan nature to submit sexually to their alpha.  Barton was still young for a Lycan, in a few more years he would mature, his scent would thicken out as he finally grew into his apex hormones and then he would seek his own mate, understanding finally that what he felt for him was just puppy lust.  Phil couldn’t help but smile at that he understood and if giving Clint 24/7 access to him had helped calmed him down, it was the least that he could do to protect the mental health of his asset. But it would still hurt when Clint moved onto his true mate but with luck he would still retain his respect as his handler and work with him. Phil felt the tears run down his face, he knew it was the machine amplifying his emotions and making the false rejection worse, but he could do nothing to stop it.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Johnson, gloated over the first break thought they had, the image of Barton knelt at Coulson’s feet, Barton sucking him off in his office, Coulson bending his asset over his desk, images of him totally dominating the younger man, demanding his submission.

He had been angry when Dr Mason had called a halt to that session, the doctors concern was with Coulson’s health, Mason seemed uneasy for some reason, when he should have been pleased that his Machine was beginning to show results. Before Coulson was taken away Johnson couldn’t help entering the room after that gruelling session, and leaning over the sweat soaked body, as Coulson lay twitching from the aftershock of the forced organisms the machine had rung out of him as he had lived out his dreams.

He whispered harshly. “Barton will testify against you, it will be his only option, the Project wants him back, and I am the only one who can save his ass. You really think that he’s going to risk his future for you Coulson,” he gloated, then turning he left the room.

0-0-0-0-0

Elsewhere in SHIELD

Jenny and Marc were concerned, seriously concerned, Coulson was missing on their watch. She had rushed to find Marc grabbing and manhandling him into a camera bind spot.

Whatever she was going to say, was interrupted by Marc, “Jen, this is bad are you sure you want to get involved, Coulson’s been picked up by Internal Security.”

She swore under her breath, “Do you know the charges?”

Marc nodded reluctantly “I got Frankie to hack the system, once I heard, that boy’s a regular wizard. There are two major charges, the first one is that he used his power as Clint’s handler to force him to submit sexually to him, and there is a lesser charge of inappropriate behaviour which had been included with that.

“No way, Coulson would never hurt Clint like that, you only have to look at Clint, he thinks the sun and them moon rise and fall with that guy.”

“Stockholm syndrome, Frankie said, they ……….”

 “They don’t know anything, if Clint didn’t succumb to the Project there is no way that Coulson could force him….” She trailed off and her eyes opened wider as he caught the look Marc have her.

“So what is the other charge, there had to be more than that?”

“Frankie had problems with that one, but finally got an answer.” He paused “the charge is that Coulson was planning to sexually dominate Clint, and then use that domination over him to take over as pack leader for the whole of SHIELD’s shapeshifted, ruling them through him. Two eliminations Jen and Phil Coulson would be the next Director of the Dark.”

 “Oh Shit,” Jenny said with feeling “when’s Clint due back.” 

“Forty eight hours , there’s no way we can contact him, until they break radio silence. But once he’s back we need to get to him the minute he steps off the jet, before Internal Security. He needs to know what’s going down, even if it’s just to protect his back. You get the gang together we need to have all the bases covered”

0-0-0-0-0-0

Forty Eight hours later 26th October

Flight Pad

When the Quinjet landed, Marc was waiting for Clint to disembark, approaching him quickly.

 “Clint.”

The younger man turned round at the sound of his voice, he looked exhausted. His smile of greeting faded when he saw the look on Marc’s face. “What’s wrong Marc……… is it Coulson?”  His handler was the first person he checked up when he returned to base if he had to work a solo mission without him. Thankfully they were few and far between.

“Coulson’s been arrested by Internal security, and he’s in lock down,” Marc told him.

“What for?”

Marc took a deep breath, because he knew that Clint was going to go ballistic.

“Agent Coulson was arrested for inappropriate behaviour with an asset, which carries with it the serious offence of using his power and position to cohere the asset into sexual and humiliating acts.”

“Who?” Clint demanded, a low growl started deep in his chest, he would tear the lying tongue for the head of Coulson’s accuser.

“You.” Marc said, seeing and hating the look of total shock on Clint’s face, “the arrest warrant came from….. Clint we traced it back to Johnson, working on information given by Dr Hall. The witness, I can’t get a name on him, but he’s testimony is that you got on your knees to Coulson and sucked him off, also you ………” Marc trailed off at the look that Clint was giving him, he suddenly felt very scared.  He swallowed hard, Clint’s eyes had taken on the werewolf cast, his fangs had elongated, and his face had distorted, but he was still holding his human form, by the skin of his teeth, if Marc was any judge.

“They also believe,  that he is going to use his hold on  you to take over the SHIELD shifter pack and then make a move on Palmer to become Director of  SHIELD, with them at his back, no one would question his right to lead SHIELD, if you were pack leader.  He paused and then steeling himself he said “Clint they have Coulson on the machine, you know what that is?”

“Yeah, bastards,” Clint spat the words, his lips pulled back over his fangs, and Marc turned slightly to see what has attracted the younger man’s attention, it was an Internal Security officer.

  Marc  opened his mouth to speak, but Clint beat him too it.

“Go Marc and thanks I owe you,” Clint said stepping past him and heading towards the security office.

Marc took a look at his tablet as if checking something and hurried away, it was only when he was at a safe distance that he turned round in time to see Clint leaving with the officer.

0-0-0-0-0

Walking with the security officer, gave Clint time to think it through. The mission he had been on was one that didn’t need him, which smacked of Johnson getting him out of the way while he launched his attack on Coulson. Johnson had been quiet for the last few months, not making any move against his handler and he had assumed that Sub Director Johnson was prepared to wait out Palmer’s retirement, before trying to take Coulson out. Perhaps he had decided not to wait after all?

SHIELD was in lockdown forty minutes later when they found the security officer unconscious in a hallway, and Barton missing. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

The Machine

Phil was in the middle of a session, he was trying to fight back, telling himself that it wasn’t real, but the drugs made the memories, stronger and more vivid and it was becoming harder to know fact from fiction, and each time they became more real.  He felt the hands on him, the bite of a knife in his stomach; he bucked and screamed against the pain.  The voice in his ears, vile words, which clawed at him, forcing him from one memory to the next.

Suddenly it was gone, and it was like falling into a bottomless void. He arched up screaming as the sensors were pulled off him roughly as he was unplugged from the machine. His mind was spinning,  he vomited no longer able to hold it back, one of the guards swore and slammed him into the wall, his legs gave way and he sank down as he started to black out. But they wouldn’t let him, he was hauled roughly back to his feet, he tried to concentrate to somehow find a grip on reality.

Cold under his feet, bright lights, flashing off the wall, harsh lights that burrowed into his brain. He was being half dragged, half carried unable to stand, when suddenly the lights began to go out one after another,  darkness rushing towards him with  each loud bang as they blew.

There was a muffled scream and Phil was falling forward as the guards were torn off him, but he never hit the floor he was caught and held close.  Quickly he was swept up and into strong arms, the next thing he knew they were moving fast, and all he could do was bury his face against his rescuer and hang on.

0-0-0-0-0

28th October

Johnson was furious, first he had lost Barton and now Coulson had been plucked from Department 8, and was at large, and for the first time he knew real fear. Coulson, the Surgeon had always been on a leash with Palmer holding it. He was the Director’s personal enforcer, but now that leash had been broken, and Coulson was loose.  Also Dr Mason was becoming a thorn in his flesh, and Dr Hall was beginning to back down, being unsure about his finding. The very thing that he was sure would prove his case the machine, was instead proving to be the weakness. Where once he had seen damming evidence, Mason was now undermining it, slowly and surely.

When he got the order to go to Palmer’s office, he collected his files, he was surprised to see the old secretary was missing from her usual desk, and instead there was a stunning red head.

“Miss Edwards not in today?”

“Sorry Sir, she was involved in a car accident, she’s going to be alright, and will be back tomorrow.” 

“I am pleased to hear that.”  Johnson, cast an admiring look at her, perhaps he could request her, Toni his current PA was getting a little needy, and it was time for a change.

The younger woman smiled, pushing a strand of dark red hair behind her ear, picking up the file off her desk she went to the door as she said.  “You are expected Sir, “she opened the door and stood aside for him to go through.  

Johnson had just stepped inside the room when  he saw Phil Coulson seated opposite Palmer, Johnson went for his gun, only to be taken down hard and fast by the secretary, and find his own gun  pressed against the back of his skull as a knee dug hard into his back.

Director Palmer nodded to Coulson, who said “Widow, if you would escort Agent Johnson to a chair.”

“Sir.”  Widow, pulled Johnson to his feet and all but manhandled him into a chair near Coulson, before melting into the background where she could comfortably cover the whole room.

Johnson had just opened his mouth and was about to protest at his treatment when the door opened and Barton come in with Drs Mason and Hall.

“Ah, now that we are all here, Agent Johnson, perhaps you will make Agent Coulson aware of the charges that have been levelled against him.”  Palmer said then added “for the record.”

“Agent Investigators Barr and Martin have already done that Sir. Everything that has been done to Coulson during this investigation has been strictly by the book.”  

Palmer’s lips twitched, in a shadow of a smile, “So I have been made aware by Dr Mason. But I do have to ask myself, why Agent Barton was sent on a mission that he was over qualified for, at such a time, especially since you sent him.”

“Director, you allowed me to proceed against Agent Coulson.” Johnson put in quickly.

All he got was a smile that made Palmer’s face look like a hollowed out skull. “Answer my question Agent Johnson. Because now you have the opportunely to present your evidence, the floor is yours. I am sure that Director Elect Fury will be equally as interested in the outcome as I am, I would not like you to miss anything out.”

For the first time Johnson saw Fury seated at the side of the room with the younger woman he recognized as Maria Hill, Fury was wearing his trademark black leather duster, his face was expressionless, like a hanging judge in court waiting to give a verdict.

Johnson was fuming; he should have expected that from the old goat, he wouldn’t give up his own personal assassin easily. 

“It was brought to my attention Sir, by an independent witness that Coulson was using his position of trust as Barton’s handler to subject his asset to inappropriate sexual demands. The witness testified that they had seen him on his knees to Coulson in his office, sucking him off, and the witness also believed that Coulson was using sexual domination to make Barton his pet. Domination now would put Coulson in a strong position when Barton matures. I had also been informed at that time that Coulson already sharing his apartment on base with his asset, with this evidence I approached Dr Hall with my concerns and this USB.”

Johnson got up and inserted the USB into the wall display, and pressed play, the large screen lit up with the image from Coulson’s office, clearly showing Barton on his knees to his handler, his head resting on Coulson’s thigh, as the older man slowly carded his fingers through his hair, his voice low, and the timber soothing.  

Johnson forwarded from one set of recordings to the next, “Dr Hall saw these and said that he was concerned that Coulson was binding Barton to him and conditioning him to be submissive to him. I can also produce evidence the Coulson was looking into the pack dynamics of SHIELD, especially those concerning the elite response units, which are made up almost entitle of shifters.”

Palmer turned his attention to Phil. “Can you explain that Agent Coulson.”

“Lycans are not by nature solitary creatures, they create their own packs, and it seemed that it would be more beneficial  for him to join the SHIELD pack, I was looking into the dynamics of the pack to see if it was suitable. Considering the camera were on the privacy settings I would be interesting to see how you got the footage. As for Barton kneeling to me, I am responding his to needs, and nothing more.”

“Sure you were Coulson,” Johnson said sarcastically. ”In reality  you were playing a long game, manipulating him so you could, what did you call it Dr Hall, get him into a sexual heat and bond him close, for when he becomes an Apex Alpha. Holding his leash you would be able to remove anyone who stood in your way.”  Johnson scoffed.

 “You have proof of it.” Palmer asked looking towards Dr Hall. “After all Doctor you seem to have been at the heart of this matter from the start.”

“No Sir, but I was able to confirm his concerns were real, and looking at the footage he showed me, I knew that it would only  be a matter of time before Agent Coulson would go from the reassurance to sexually submissive kneeling.”  He paused “then later when Dr Mason had started processing him on the machine, I  was shown some of the reading and they made me very concerned, because it verified my findings, they clearly show Barton in a sexual heat in a SHIELD safe house, he….”  

“Yes, Barton entered sexual heat there, but nothing happened, but it was clear he needed more physical contact with me, I offered him 24/7 access to me, on a non-sexual basis, and that is when I moved him into my apartment…. And.”

 

Dr Hall cut across him,” Agent Coulson, I have studied Lycan, the sexual heat”

That was as far as he got when Phil said “You may have studied them, Dr Hall, but I got curious where you could have gained your knowledge, and found out some interesting facts, so for how long have you been employed by the Project.”

Palmer turned on Johnson, “You have brought a member of the Project into my organization?”

“Sir.” Johnson cowed back, Palmer for all his weakened body dominated the room.

“We will talk about that Agent Johnson,” Palmer turned his attention back Hall. “You were saying Dr Hall.”

Hall took a steadying breath, “Barton has never submitted to his heat before, even at the Project with his handlers therefore, he….”

“He can speak for himself.” Coulson put in, adding “Barton if you would like to answer the good doctor,” the sarcasm barely vailed.

“The sexual heat of the Lycan can only be felt for his or her  true mate, the Project thought it was a magical way to hold us, to make us their slaves and bind us to our handlers, the last one that tried I gutted.” He allowed a smile that turned Hall’s blood cold in his veins.  He paused, “the Project handlers would force us to our knees, in human form, make us crawl round on all fours, treat us like human animals, to break us.  To kneel to your true Alpha is a place of respect, of mutual respect,” he added looking at Coulson.

Johnson wasn’t ready to give up yet. “Dr Mason, you have examined the evidence from the Machine?”

Mason was an old hand at the power struggle in SHIELD, “I examined the evidence we collected. Following procedural guidelines, because Agent Coulson has undergone the Machine before, we used former scans as a baseline.  Due to his training, since the last scan we increased the drugs used. Then we questioned him about his sexual relationship with his asset, and got these scans.” He paused “you have to understand that there is some distortion in the picture that you will see.”

The pictures came up on the screen in Palmer’s office, Clint gave a whistle, and then grinned almost bouncing up and down on the spot, “Boss, I never knew you had it in you.”

“Barton.” One word, and the younger man settled by his side obediently.

“I take it that those incidents never happened.” Palmer said.

“Wishful thinking Sir, but I have never fucked Agent Barton.”  Phil answered coolly.

Palmer nodded, “Dr Mason.”

Johnson leaned forward in his chair, “Dr Mason, your option on the scans” Prompting him a little more forcefully.

“I informed Sub Director Johnson that I had reason to believe that the projected memories of Agent Coulson were subject to his desires, it is always a possibility when the desires are strong, that false memories are grafted onto real memories. And to answer the question of did he plan to take over SHIELD, I have to say, there wasn’t any evidence.”

Phil saw the way the colour was draining from Johnson, and knew that Mason was covering his own back, and had more or likely changed his findings, and was willing to bet that Dr Hall would follow suit now.

Mason continued, “I did advise Sub Director Johnson, that I would not increase the drug use in the sessions, or take it as far as he wanted, and risk brain damage to Agent Coulson.”

Palmer raised an eyebrow at that, “interesting, please continue Dr Mason.”

 

While Mason was speaking, Phil’s attention moved to Director Elect Fury, and saw the man tilt his head slightly to him, it seemed that Nick remembered him, his attention moved to AD elect Hill, for an attractive woman she had an unappealing scow on her face. Fury had the moral flexibility to run both sides of SHIELD, but Hill,………. accidents happen for a reason, and he favoured her with a flicker of a smile.

Palmer leaned back in his chair, “Agent Coulson is cleared of any misconduct in this instance, and all charges are dropped.”

The Widow laid the file down in front of Palmer for his signature and then carried it round and placed in on the desk for Coulson to sign.

“Johnson you threatened to send Barton back to the Project if I didn’t confess.” Coulson said levelly to Johnson.  He got slowly to his feet; one hand waved Clint away from him when he flinched at putting weight on his injured leg. Phil picked up the pen and read through the document, it freed any SHIELD personal from retribution from him, for anything that might have happened during the investigation.  He paused just as he was about to sign; turning slightly to Johnson he said “You should never threaten my asset.”

The strike was that fast that Johnson didn’t have time to react let alone defend himself. The pen was driven straight through Johnson’s eye and into the brain; he only had time for a cry of pain before slumped forward in his seat dead.

Phil pushed Johnson’s shoulder with his good hand, and the body toppled to the ground he ignored the gun that Hill had drawn on him, hearing Clint growling a warning, signed the document and then took the seat for himself. He gave his cuffs a tug and  settled his jacket back in place, frowning slightly at the blood splash that had stained his cuff, he so hated mess.

Dr Hall had jumped up from his seat and backed away from him, pointing at the dead body his mouth opening and closing and nothing coming out.

Palmer gave another of his smiled looking almost amused at what was going on. “Sit down Dr Hall,” then more sternly “Sit down man, you would think it’s the first time you have seen a man die of natural causes.” 

“Natural causes,” Dr Hall pointed at the body, “He,” pointing to Coulson, “killed him, we all saw him.”

“Dr Hall,” Palmer spoke as if talking to a rather dim child. “Stupidity is a natural state for some people; therefore he died of natural causes.” 

“Yes Sir.” Hall said after catching the warning look that Mason shot him.  “Of course Director.”

“Director Fury, allow me to introduce you to your Sub Director of the Dark Senior Agent Philip Judson Coulson.” Palmer said smugly, adding “team leader of Strike Team Delta.”  

Director Fury looked Coulson and Barton up and down. “It was certainly educational; I look forward to my future dealing with you both, Cheese, Barton.” He got to his feet, “Director Palmer,” Fury acknowledge the Director of the Dark, walking out with Hill at his heels, as he pasted Phil he gave him a knowing smile.

“Cheese,” Palmer said, his tone showing amusement.

“A long time ago Sir.”

Palmer just nodded sagely; he would make sure to get the story another time.

Phil got to his feet, not needing to look to know that Barton was hovering by his side ready with a steadying hand. “If you will excuse me, I have some matters to discuss with Agent Barton, and the Widow.”

Palmer said “of course Sub-Director, I will not detain you.”  He paused for affect and added “and welcome to SHIELD, Agent Romanov.”

 

0-0-0-0-0

The word round SHIELD about Coulson had gone viral, of how he had moved his new asset Agent Romanov straight into his apartment, to live with him and Barton. But no one dare ask Barton or Romanov about any details, ever since Ryan and Davis had been found naked and hanging from a light fitting in the cafeteria, for daring to broach the subject with them.

The three of them had just returned from a successful first mission together, when Jasper Sitwell came into Coulson’s office with a grin on his face, carrying one of the food boxes from the cafeteria, and put it on the table in front of Coulson. “Heard you were back, and knew you wouldn’t bother getting anything so…”

The growl was bubbling up inside of Clint; he knew Sitwell and knew that man was harmless but.....  The tablet dropped from his fingers onto the floor without him even thinking about it, and the next thing he knew he had Sitwell by the throat, snarling at him, showing him his fangs and his clawed fingers were wrapped round Sitwell’s throat as he pinned him to the wall.

“Barton put him down.” Coulson ordered as he looked up from his computer screen.

The snap of his Alpha’s command made Clint pause, and take a deep breath

“Sorry sir,” he slowly lowered Sitwell to the floor, and stepped back.

“Do we have a problem, Agent Sitwell?” Phil Coulson asked.

Sitwell rubbed his throat, mentally biting back his first retort which would have been to tell Phil to keep his dog on a leash, but sense won out. “Were okay, Agent Coulson,” he paused “Mind telling me what set that off, Agent Barton.”

Clint carded his fingers through his hair in frustration, “It was the food Sir.”  He felt the heat rise in his face, “Senior Agent Coulson is my Alpha, and well you gave him food and…” he trailed off.

Sitwell shook his head, “Okay Agent, I’ll remember that in future, or else I’ll being enough for two okay,” he gave him a friendly smile.

Clint nodded, he glanced at Coulson and dropped his gaze back down, and he was in serious trouble.

“Was there anything else you needed Agent Sitwell.” Phil asked.

“No Sir.”  Sitwell answered, and then left, making sure to close the door behind him.

It was a click of the door locking that made Clint flinch, and he turned back to look at his Alpha, the older man was stood against his desk, he clicked his fingers and pointed to the floor in front of him.

Moving quickly Clint dropped to his knees, head down, staring at his handler’s dress shoes.

A cool hand slipped under his chin and Clint’s head was tilted up to look at his Alpha.  “You are a member of SHIELD, as is Agent Sitwell, that means that you treat him respect that you would afford me, understand.”

“No Sir.” Clint replied.

“Explain yourself Agent.” Coulson’s voice had dropped to an icy tone, that sent a chill down his spine, and he felt Coulson’s fingers tighten on his jaw.

“You Sir are my Alpha, my life is yours to command, and my duty is to protect you, to feed you.” He felt his face heat up, “You come before all else,” he trailed off.

“To feed me Barton?” Coulson’s voice softened.

“Yeah and Sitwell he was…”

“Yes Sir………….” Clint cut in quickly. “Since I’ve been sharing your apartment and your bed, it’s made……… some of my instincts….. My primal instincts have become stronger.”

“Tell me what you need Clint.” Coulson’s voice softened and his thumb slightly brushed the younger man’s jaw and lips.

“Fuck me,” Clint’s voice had dropped to a soft whisper as he nuzzled against his Alpha’s hand, nipping his palm, “Fuck me Alpha.”

 

Curled up on the sofa, leafing through a report, Natasha smiled, as she breathed one word “Finally.”


	10. The kidnapping of the Surgeon (recap)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the story "code name Surgeon" I wrote of the kidnapping of Agent Phil Coulson by HYDRA, this chapter is a recap of the kidnapping for anyone who hasn't read that story, the next chapter will pick up the story of his rescue and how Clint and Phil became a mated pair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With thanks to my beta reader Antoinette for all her help and support, any errors are mine.

The Present

Agent Thomas Wilson climbed down the ladder from the docking hatch, linking the Bus to the Quinjet; he was greeted by Senior Agent Phil Coulson with a handshake and a polite smile. He exchanged a few quick words with him, as Coulson made him all aware what his responsibilities concerning SHIELD flight 616 and its crew were, while he was away in New York meeting with Director Fury.

It was with some relief that he watched Coulson boarded the Quinjet, through the docking tunnel, once both hatches were closed, the docking tunnel between the two aircraft was retracted as the Quinjet powered up, and released its clamps, and pulled away smoothly from the larger aircraft.

Forty five minutes later Agent May heard a transmit ion from the Quinjet, “Transponder Seven Five Zero, Quinjet 1879,” then there was a sound like a gun shot.

The sudden loud noise over the radio make her flinch, she immediately hit the comm, “Agent Wilson we have a Delta red alert.”

Her attention was back to the radio, as she started the emergency protocol, but all attempts to establish contact with the Quinjet failed. They could transmit but couldn’t receive. She heard two more gunshots and then. “I can’t believe that Matt was HYDRA sir He.” The pilot was cut off in mid-sentence by a voice she recognised, Coulson.

“Can you get the jet down?”

“Yes sir.” On the heel of the pilot’s words there was a loud bang and alarms screaming in the background. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Quinjet 1879 is going down, repeat we are going down,” there was a touch of fear in the pilots voice.

There was static, and then his voice came back on.

“This is Quinjet 1879 we are losing height, and have lost vertical thrust, our power is failing, we will not make the mountain, and I am going to put it down. Tracker is active, signal strong. Six souls on board, one dead. 7500 situation contained. Repeat 7500 situation contained.” He paused, “Sir you need to go back to the passenger section, you can’t help me now.”

There was a long pause, with only the background noise, then the pilot said “God help us we’re going in.” Then there was nothing but static on that frequency.

There was controlled panic in the Bus, as Skye’s fingers flew over the keyboard as she helped to track the stricken Quinjet while Wilson worked on finding a landing site for the Bus near the projected crash site. As soon as the Bus landed, the rear loading ramp dropped down and a black SHIELD SUV came speeding out.

They found the Quinjet, half a mile away it had come down hard cutting a furrow through the ground as it tore off its landing gear, skidding on its belly across a ditch and dirt road before ending up in a stand of trees, the emergency hatch had been blown open and at the base of the stairs laid the crumpled body of Specialist Lawson, the jet’s on board security officer, he had taken multiple bullets to the chest.

Wilson and May approached the jet carefully, May was the first on board, clearing the door quickly to one side to allow Wilson to board and move into the passenger section, as she took the cockpit. She found both pilots dead; one from a tree branch that had penetrated the window screen when it had crashed into the trees hit him in the chest, the other, a bullet to the head. She heard Wilson call out confirming the rest of the jet was clear. Only then, were Fitzsimmons allowed on board.

There was blood in the passenger section; the brief case Coulson had been carrying when he had boarded was on the floor, along with his personal weapon. Wilson checked Coulson’s gun he had unloaded half a clip, and by the looks of it into Lawson. Fitzsimmons began their forensic sweep of the jet.

Fitz was knelt by Coulson’s briefcase, it had stopped a rogue bullet, the side buckled, “no attempt had been made to break into it, so it’s possible Sir.”  
He waited for Wilson to acknowledge him, “That whatever they wanted it was Agent Coulson, and not the information he carried.”

“Agent Wilson,” Jemma held the packet containing the blood swab from the inside of the plane; she had broken the chemical pellet, and was studying the result. “I can confirm the blood we found is the same group as Agent Coulson’s, I will need to test it for a positive DNA identification.

Agent Wilson, took a steadying breath, he could imagine Fury’s reaction when he heard about Coulson. Coulson was a level 9 operative, a Sub-director of the Dark Side he was the only Level 9 that still worked the field, and he had been lost on his watch.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Coulson came round to a sharp blow across the face that rocked his head back violently, his hair was caught in a hard grip and his head was pulled back, so that he was looking into the face of a man he hadn’t seen for over a decade.

“Remember me Surgeon,” the man gloated, “don’t worry, it will come to you, and we will have plenty of time to get to know each other again,” then with a smile he added “Hail Hydra.”


	11. Rescue of the Surgeon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talbot werewolves are a species which when they change retain their human form, but with the the face of a wolf with claws they are often shown wearing ripped clothes.   
> Clint and Nat are both (Van) Helsing werewolves when they change they look like wolves walking on their back legs, they are powerful, they have razor sharp claws. Of the two they are the most feared.

The Present 

When the news was received that Senior Agent Phil Coulson, Sub Director of the Dark was missing, Fury knew that all hell was going to be let loose. May had encrypted the message, but Fury wasn’t surprised to see Senior Agents Barton and Romanov in his office only it wasn’t SHIELD Agents or even Avengers who faced it, it was Apex Alpha werewolves, pissed off because their mate had been taken. 

When they left his office Fury, got up and poured himself a stiff whiskey, and raised it in toast as he watched the Quinjet leave the carrier. “God help the man who took you Cheese because those two won’t give any.” 

Going back to his desk he brought up Philip Judson Coulson’s file and the data in front of him rippled, and re-alighted its self. The file had been hacked and he saw a red strip appear diagonally across the file, two words Avenger Liaison was boldly written across it. 

“Fucking Stark,” Fury said but there was a smile on his lips. 

0-0-0-0-0

Clint was angry but it was a controlled cold fury, their mate had been taken, May and Ward had only one job and that was to ensure the safety of their leader. But they had failed, Coulson was in their care for only one year and in that time, May had spied on him and Skye had betrayed him. 

Once Coulson was back with him and Nat, the Sub Director of the Dark would be where he belonged as the Avengers Handler, and as their lover in their bed. 

0-0-0-0-0

The bus crew had received the first transmission in the early hours of the morning the man has identified himself as Hydra, the camera has panned back to show Coulson restrained in a chair, there was blood running down his face from a cut above the eye and from his mouth and nose, his head was hanging forward and he looked to be unconscious. 

The man who had spoken, on the tape didn’t make any demands of SHIELD, he had simply said that retribution was due, and that Coulson had to pay for his betrayal of HYDRA. During the transmission Skye had been working on back tracing the origination point of the broadcast, but it had terminated before she was able to complete it.

It was 24 hours later that the next transmission came through, it was the same location as run down warehouse, but this time the camera panned back to show a large cage. Coulson was stood in front of the entrance to the cage, he was covered by two guards in HYDRA uniforms, minus his tie, and his blood splattered shirt was torn open, his jacket was wrapped round his left arm as padding, and in his other he held a machete. 

One of the guards levelled his gun at Coulson’s head, as the door opened and he was ordered in, it closed quickly behind him. 

“What the hell.” Sky said looking towards May and Ward.

Ward leaned forward in his chair, “there’s another door.”

He glanced quickly at May and added “there must be.” 

She turned back to the screen just then a door seemed to open out of the wall, and a Talbot werewolf staggered into the cage, Hydra agents with cattle prods, forcing him in. 

In pain and angry, the werewolf turned on the first human it saw, Coulson.

The Talbot werewolf was a man in wolf form, its clothes hanging onto its distorted body, red eyes burning with hatred, it growled and snarled as it circled him. 

When the werewolf attacked it was fast, its clawed hand lashing out towards Coulson’s throat, but he threw up his left arm and blocked it with his jacket covered left arm, and he pushed the werewolf away from him, at the same time slashing with the machete. 

The werewolf staggered back as it howled in pain the machete scoring a hit on him. It now began to circle Coulson slowing, making faints to try and draw the human into making a mistake and leaving himself open. Then at a critical moment Coulson stumbled and Skye shouted, “No.” 

The werewolf attacked with a roar lunged forward, seeing the stumble, but instead of trying to catch himself Coulson, dropped to his knee and struck upward, the machete sinking into the creatures middle, doubling it over. Coulson powered to his feet dragging it free and as the werewolf dropped to its knees he brought the machete down across the back of the werewolf’s neck, taking its head off. 

Breathing hard, he turned back to the door of the cage. “Drop it, Coulson,” the order was accompanied by the sound of guns being cocked. He let the machete fall from his fingers, and then walked out of the cage and past the guards not looking back, as the dead body of the now human werewolf was dragged away. 

“Twenty four hours to the next show” the Hydra official had said just before the screen went black and the transmission ended. 

The bus dissolved into uproar. 

But they were not the only people watching, the grim look on Nat and Clint’s faces changing to one of satisfaction as the Talbot died, they saw something that the bus crew didn’t see because they had never seen it. The Surgeon was back.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> DIrector Palmer had a vested interest in seeing Coulson and Barton mated, and it's up to Dr Pearson to make it happen any way he can.

The Past 

Nat was curled up the couch in her handler’s office, earlier she had placed a cup of coffee in front of him, and it was the good stuff, from Director Palmer’s personal stash. 

She saw the way that he gave a satisfied sigh as he took his first drink of it, gave a nod of thanks and returned to his work. 

Nat had always been independent, she had escaped the Red Room, the Russian equivalent of the Project and had been alone until she had met Clint, and the two of them had recognized a kindred spirit in each other. On the long nights together, she had curled up against him secure in his arms and listened to his story about his Alpha, their Alpha. Coulson had become a dream that she had shared with him, now that dream was a reality, an aggravating, infuriating reality that was refusing to cement the bond with her pack mate. 

It was now two weeks since Clint had knelt and asked Coulson to fuck him, and he had refused, cupping Clint’s face with one hand, his thumb lightly caressing his jaw, as he calmed him telling him that he would not be another in a long line of abusive handlers. Oh Coulson had said all the right things, and he meant it, but he could not have been further from the truth in regards to what Clint needed. 

She knew she would never share a sexual bond with Coulson, his tastes didn’t not run that way. But she would have a physical but celibate relationship with him, and looked forward to that day. But first she had to make them take the step, so she decided to take a little more active role, and tell him a few home truths. 

“You know that Clint wants you don’t you Sir.” Nat said, fixing Coulson with a stern look.

Agent Coulson’s fingers stopped on the keys, and he looked up from his laptop. “Agent Romanova, that is irrelevant, and any fraternization between asset and handler is….”

“Is allowed, as long as the asset is the one to make the first move, and it is done in front of an independent witness, to protect both asset and handler.” Nat quoted, and then added “you should know it Sir you wrote it.” 

“Contrary to popular belief I did not write the SHIELD handbook.” 

Nat raised an eyebrow at him with a smirk.

“Well not all of it, only the Black Op sections,” Coulson conceded. 

“Sir, Clint, had already declared his interest and I will go on record as your witness that you did nothing to pressure him into it.” 

“Agent Romanova, Agent Barton was on his knees to me, in a position of submission, that ….” He paused, “That makes the statement even before a witness redundant, it could be argued that his mind was in a submissive state, and was therefore subject to believing that my wishes were his own.”

“So you do want him.” Nat put quickly.

Coulson snapped at her “I would have to be a fool not too, but if I were to take advantage of him. I’d just be person who used him.” Just as quickly as he had snapped the unflappable Agent Coulson was back.

That was the fire she wanted to see, breaking every rule in the book she got up from the couch and perched on the edge of his desk. Making sure to telegraph each move, to a bemused Phil Coulson, lightly with her fingertips she tilted his face up, and leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, it was nothing more than a gentle brush of her lips. 

“You Agent Coulson are a good man.” Then she was gone, leaving Phil thoughtful. 

He wanted Clint, in the worse way possible way, which wouldn’t, you just had to look at him to see how special he was. But regardless of what Romanova had said, he had to be sure that the younger man wanted him for himself and not just because he believed that as his alpha he had rights to his body. But she had given him hope. 

 

0-0-0-0-0

Three days later

Phil was enjoying his meal in the cafeteria at SHIELD HQ, it was fashionable for the juniors to complain about the food, but he had eaten a lot worse, and the steak was looking good today. His knife was just paused over it, when he heard his asset’s voice. 

Looking over he saw a Bear Shifter looming over Clint Barton’s table, hands planted firmly on it leaning into Barton’s face, “if you won’t fuck him I will.” 

Phil lowered his knife and fork, as the bear shifter turned his attention to him, the man tilted his head to openly scent him and then leered, Barton was sitting tense in his chair, clawed hands gauging into the wooden table.   
.   
The bear shifter started toward his table changing form, Phil pushed his chair back enough to give him room to act if he needed to. But he had seen Barton’s eye go red and knew it wouldn’t be needed. There was a horrendous roar, and seven foot of clawed fury, jumped the bear, sending it crashing to the floor. 

As the two creatures fought tables and chairs went flying, the bear getting more and more frantic as it was unable to free its self of the werewolf on its back. 

 

Reaching for his coffee Phil watched the fight, taking measured sips of his drink, casually waving off the security detail when they arrived; he wanted to see this played out. Only calling it to a halt when Barton went to deliver a killing blow. 

He allowed a shadow of a smile as he saw how pissed off Barton was every fibre of his being wanted to kill the bear.

His face became hard when he saw that his asset was going to defy him, “Barton stand down.” His voice dropping to the deeper alpha command tone, that demanded obedience, as he kept eye contract with his asset, staring him down as he added “Don’t make me repeat that order,” Finally Clint lowered his head in submission, but it didn’t stop him from smashing the bear’s head against the floor with a loud bang, knocking it out as he got up. 

“Cheap move Barton,” Coulson drawled, ignoring the fangs and claws that would have most people running scream off into the night.

Rising to his feet, he pushed his chair back, and walked round the table, clicking his fingers he pointed to the floor at his feet. This time he didn’t have to utter one word of command, Clint obediently came forward on all fours to settle back on his haunches in front of him, keeping his head low, even as his claws scored the floor. 

Phil allowed him that little action of disobedience, “My office now Barton, and Security Chief Vogue, get the bear to medical and I will speak with him later,” there was a chilling note to his voice that made the other agents fall back, as he walked out of the cafeteria with Barton walking obediently to heel. 

Once they were gone there was a sudden eruption of voices, as the agents began to talk about what they had seen. 

0-0-0-0-0  
Clint was pissed off; the bear had put in a challenge for Coulson, suggesting his handler could do better than an ex-Project mutt. He had let the fucking bear get to him and he had gone red of claw and fangs, to publically stake his claim. Red, blue more like it, because with Coulson at the moment all he could see was blue, because he was rapidly getting the biggest case of blue balls in the whole of SHIELD, because his handler was refusing to fuck him.

Half of SHIELD already thought he was doing the big nasty with him, but the man had principles, damn him, one of the best wet work operatives in the history of the Dark Side of SHIELD, a man who had sanitized some of his own colleagues to gain his position as Sub Director of the Dark, a man who knew what he wanted and took it. But there was a line that he wouldn’t cross. Hence, the blue balls. Coulson refused to fuck him because he didn’t want to abuse his position of power. 

He came back to the present as he entered Coulson’s office, and was met with the sight of his handler standing against the desk, arms crossed, and one look at his face told him that it was going to be worse than he thought, Senior Agent Coulson didn’t like disobedience, and not only had he done that, but it was in public. 

0-0-0-0-0

Doctor Pearson had newly taken over from Dr Hall, as SHIELD’s shifter expert. It seemed the other man had resigned soon after the death of the former Acting Sub Director of the Dark. Director Palmer had made it clear to him he expected him to bring about the bonding between his new Sub-Director of the Dark, and the man’s asset Clint Barton a werewolf. The Project it seemed was taking an interest in Barton, and Palmer wanted the bond locked in. He had tried to explain how natural was always best. But Palmer only liked certainties.

Dr Pearson watched the footage from the Cafeteria thoughtfully, and then switched to the camera in Coulson’s office. He could see Coulson stood by his desk, his suit jacket was gone, his tie was at half-mast and his sleeves were rolled up, knelt on the floor was his asset. He saw Coulson look up at the camera, a small move of the hand and the next second, Pearson jerked back from the screen, as he was suddenly eye to red eye with a werewolf, the creature pulled back enough to show its fangs, and then the massive jaws crunched down and the feed was cut.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Coulson is drugged it is up to Clint and Nat to help him.  
> But nothing is straight forward. 
> 
>  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for non-consensual drug use BUT consensual Sex.  
> I have changed from Mature to Explicit for this chapter, I would prefer to over classify it then under classify it.

Four days later. 

Even though, he and Nat were sharing Coulson’s apartment onsite he still liked to be near his handler, and both of them had taken to camping out in his office when they were at headquarters. 

Nat was offsite at the moment so it meant that he had Coulson all to himself, with an extra bounce in his step, Clint headed down the corridor. He paused at the door, gave a quick knock, only for Coulson to yell at him to go away.

He started to turn away, only to pause, was there was something wrong with his handler? He had heard the sob in Coulson’s voice, and that was completely alien to the man. 

“Sir,” Clint said allowing some of his concern to show in his voice, he tried to open the door when he didn’t get a reply but thought he had heard another sob, the door was locked. Allowing the wolf to bleed through to his human form, claws erupted from his fingertips and fangs from his jaws, with the strength of the wolf the lock broke easily under his hand. 

Coulson was on the floor, hunched in the corner of his office, knees pulled up, head tilted forward chin resting on his chest, he was shivering and breathing hard, the room stank of sex. 

Coulson looked up at him, and snarled “Get the fuck out of here Barton.” The obscenity more than anything confirmed something was seriously wrong, Coulson might swear like the mercenary had once been, but never at SHIELD, at SHIELD he was the unflappable Phil Coulson. Something was very wrong. “Get out…….”

Clint ignored him and came closer. Coulson’s face was flushed and coated in sweat; his dress shirt was undone and plastered to the outlines of his body. 

Coulson’s scent was thicker than normal, heightened and musky with sex and arousal, and it was coming off the older man in waves, he edged slowly closer, hands held out in front of him, showing that he meant now hard. By rights the scent of his would be mate in heat should have sent him into a rut, but the chemical edge of it made him angry and brought out every protective instinct in him.

“Bar…. Barton, leave now.” 

“I can’t Sir, and I won’t leave you like this.” Clint spoke calmly as he edged even closer, now added to the scent was the iron taint of blood, his eyes focused on the bloody tracks on Coulson’s forearms and the blood under his nails from where he had clawed his arm, his handler was literally holding onto his sanity by his fingertips. 

On the desk he saw empty food cartons from the Cafeteria, reaching out he grabbed on sniffed and threw it away in disgust, a human wouldn’t notice it but there was a drug laced in the food. 

“You’re going to be okay Sir.” Clint said quickly as Coulson to recoil back, plastering himself against the wall, at the sudden movement, quashing his own anger, there was time for that later, for now he had to hold his handler.

Coulson closed his eyes, he exhaled slowly shaking violently, and Clint could see what it was costing him as he said a tremor to his voice. “Barton, you have to go……. Please go now before I……”

“Tell me what you need, please Coulson, tell me.” 

“You,” he sobbed, “I want you.” The older man opened his eyes and Clint felt his heart miss a beat at the pure need that burned in them, just as he went to speak Coulson looked away, and in that second he had seen sadness and disgust. 

“Sir, I told you I wanted you to fuck me, it’s okay I want this,” Clint tried to reassure him. “It’s okay, I promise you.” 

Coulson shook his head, his voice breaking. , “Not like this ……. Never like this.” He ran a hand through his sweat soaked hair, as he hunched over himself. “Get the hell out of here now, please, doesn’t make me beg.” 

“Phil Coulson should never have to beg,” Clint said “you are my alpha, and you will come with me, it’s going to be okay, I will make it okay.” 

“It’s not going to be okay Barton; I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“You won’t.”

“Promise.” There was almost a childlike quality to that plea. 

“Promise.” Clint said, and coaxed Coulson out of the corner and into his jacket, hauling him to his feet, the older man stumbled and Clint pulled him tight against him to stop him from falling. The next minute he found himself being pushed up against the wall, Coulson was all over him, ravishing his mouth, as hands moved over his body, as Coulson rutted against him, leaving no doubt as to what he wanted. 

As quickly as it had happened Coulson pushed away from Clint, staggering back, the look on his face one of shocked revolution. “I am sorry……. Barton….. So...sorry, I……” 

Clint didn’t let him get any further, he wrapped Coulson in his arms, the older man tried to pull free, struggling against him, but finally settled in his arms, as if understanding that he wasn’t going to let he go any time soon. Moving his hand slowly to telegraph his moves, Clint cupped the back of Coulson’s head , gently petting him until he lowered his heard to rest in on the younger man’s shoulder. How long they stood like that Clint didn’t know, and didn’t care, he would stand there for eternity if that was what Coulson wanted. Finally when he felt a soft sigh against his neck he said. “Phil it’s okay.” 

“Phil.” Coulson sounded amused by it.

“You can chew me out later, Sir. We need to get you back home.” 

As he walked Coulson to their apartment, Clint couldn’t help himself he allowed the wolf in him to take charge and that meant keeping his mate nearest to the wall where he could shield and protect him from the eyes of any other shifters, who might want to challenge him for the amazing man he was going to claim as his own. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

Nurse Sharon Carr’s reported the incident in the corridor that had left her shaken. She had seen Barton all but dragging Agent Coulson down the corridor, the Senior Agent had looked unsteady on his feet, her attempt to help him had resulted Barton’s claws swiping at her and forcing her back, she had really thought he was going to kill her. 

Now security was on standby, while they tried to establish communication with their Sub Director, who had failed to respond to any of their attempts to contact him. So now they were in a lock down situation, waiting on instructions from Dr Pearson. 

Nat didn’t panic when she heard about Coulson’s abduction by her brother in fur. If Clint had isolated him there had to be a reason for that. 

Her cell phone had rung twenty minutes ago, Coulson, his voice was shredded had begun to explain what had happened then Clint had taken over the call has he had dissolved into a coughing fit, quickly telling her what he needed, then the call had terminated. 

This whole incident she was sure had Palmer’s dirty fingers prints all over it. But now was not the time for that, they could find the person responsible for it later.

Entering one of the air vents, she made her way to Coulson’s apartment, their apartment she corrected herself, looking through the mesh she wasn’t surprised to see Clint guarding the door in his hybrid form. 

Pushing the vent open she dropped down, Clint turned lightning fast ready to attack then halted in his tracks, as he recognised her. Glancing round she couldn’t see Coulson, so he must be in the bedroom, as she turned towards it Clint was growling and blocking her way. She gave him a sharp clip round the ears, making him back off as she showed her teeth and fangs, she was the Alpha Bitch of his pack, and he should have known better then to have challenge her. He backed off, she patted his arm as she walked past him, but he was still clearly agitated. 

She understood the moment she walked into the bedroom, the scent of arousal was strong, almost over powering. Coulson was curled up on the bed, naked under the sheets, his clothes laid scattered, discarded over the floor. He was drenched in sweat, the sheet sticking to this body, he looked completely wreaked, and when he spoke his voice was hoarse “Romanov.” 

“I am here Sir.” Nat sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching out to lay a cool hand across his forehead, he was running a fever, and he was also painfully hard and in need of release. 

“Did you bring the kit?” 

“Yes Sir,” she pulled the SHIELD drug testing kit from the bag, quickly drew a small amount of blood as she waited for the test result to appear she asked. 

 

“It was the food from the cafeteria.” He halted coughing, and Nat dug out a bottle of water from her bag, handing him the drink. 

Coulson leaned back against the pillow and took a sip, without thinking one hand dipped under the sheet. Suddenly realizing what he was doing, he pulled his hand away, the bottled water dropping from his other hand, his face showed the shame he was feeling at this loss of control. Nat caught the bottle easily, handing it back to him, when he tried to take it she held on, meeting his gaze levelly. 

“It’s alright Sir, we will get you through this, trust us, “she said as she released the bottle

She could almost smell the misery on him, as he held the bottle close to his chest, staring down. “I jumped Clint in the office and then again the minute that I got through the door, I threw him against the wall, I…. ” He made his confession, the disgust plain in his voice. “I wanted him so badly, needed him so much…… I” 

“Did you rape him?” Nat asked levelly, cutting across him, he looked up, her eyes boring into him.

“No…of course not….but I can understand if you both put in for a transfer, I won’t fight it.” He paused, “you need to be able to trust your handler.” 

“We trust you Phil, I trust you.” Clint said, his lips quirking into a sad smile as he said Coulson’s name.”

Looking down at the tester, Nat saw the result and muttered under her breath the drug they used was a downright nasty and had been banned in America and most of Europe for the last five years, it was known to work on humans, but was reserved for shifters when they had problems entering rut for the first time. 

It was Clint who asked first, “What is it Nat?”

“AB367 a rut enhancer, it’s banned.” 

“How do we….?” Phil broke off, stifling a moan, curling in on himself, he needed to come, but his body refused him the final release.

Nat answered her voice stilted as she tried to suppress the concern she felt for him. “The drug will wear its self out in another three hours, maximum of six, or we can get you to medical…”

“No.” Phil cut in quickly, there was no way he was going to medical like this, some inner sense told him that medical couldn’t help him. 

“Or.” Nat waited until she had his and Clint’s attention, “you can fuck it out of your system, sorry Phil there’s no polite way of telling you that.” 

“Phil,” Coulson said with a shake of the head and then added “you too Natasha,” he took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “once this is over we need to talk.” 

As if this was a cue, she put in gently “Clint can you leave us for a moment,” and gave a small nod towards the door. 

Once he was gone Nat leaned in close, and spoke softly to Phil, he turned his face away mortified as he answered her, trying to deny even as his body throbbed with need. She cupped his face turning him back to her, looking deep into his eyes, “Be strong Sir, and trust this to lead you” she said as she placed a hand over his heart, then gave him a chased kiss to the lips, and left the room. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

Phil turned away from the door, and banged his head against the pillow, what the hell was wrong with him, why did he have to admit that to Romanov, that moment of weakness had just lost him any chance he might have ever had with Barton. Groaning he buried his face in the pillow, his whole body shaking for a release he couldn’t get. 

He felt the bed dip, “Phil,” it was Clint; he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the look of pity he was sure he would see in the younger man’s eyes.

“Not now Barton,” His voice was muffled by the pillow. 

“Not going to happen Boss, no good trying to ignore me, I am not going away.” Phil opened his eyes to see Clint sat on the edge of the bed.

Clint was looking at him his focus as intent as if he was a target, “have you any idea how much I have wanted you Phil. I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw that black suited Hydra agent kick SHIELDS”s ass, and I fell even harder, after I butchered my handler in front of you, and you didn’t run away, you just hit me across the muzzle, and stared me down.” 

“Phil you have to understand,” Clint continued and took his hand, “that when I kneel to you, it is to show my respect to you, you are everything that I have ever wanted in an alpha, you are strong, honourable, and Sir, a total badass,” he smiled as he added that. “You have been in my heart since the day we met, and that is the reason no one could ever control me, because I had you. When you say you want me Phil, it’s not just the drug speaking is it?” 

Phil hear the desperation in the younger man’s voice and couldn’t let Clint suffer, “No, never Clint, it wasn’t the drug that made me want you. All it did was destroyed my inhibitions, but I……. I never acted before, because you’re too special, I couldn’t be like those handlers from the Project,” he paused, and then added “and later you will give me their names,” the couldn’t help the possessiveness in his voice. 

“Yes….Phil ” Clint was grinning broadly, like that Clint was so adorable, so sexy and adorable, his breath caught in his throat as he felt for the first time the younger man’s hand caressing him through the sheet, he threw his head back moaning, his hips pushing up into Clint’s hands, desperate for more.  
Clint was just easing him onto his back, when he swore and suddenly pushed Clint away from him. “Agent Romanov, we need her now.” Phil had to stop it coming out as a sob, as much as he wanted Clint there was something they had to do first.

Nat seemed appeared in front of him almost by magic; he looked from Barton back to Romanov. “Agent Barton if you will.” 

Clint looked delightfully clueless, luckily for him, Romanov knew what he wanted. She whispered into Barton’s ear, his eyes opened wide, “But I’ve already.” Clint started to protest, but Romanov said, “Clint you have to say it for Phil’s peace of mind, you have to tell me officially that you want him for himself and not because of any misguided beliefs on your side that you would be punished if you don’t have sex with him.

Phil tried to keep the need out of his voice as he said “You were on your knees then, Agent Barton,” he took a few calming breaths, “I have to know.”

It was with a heartfelt sigh that Clint said “Agent Romanova, before you, I hereby ask. “ Clint paused obliviously trying to remember the official wording. Frustrated he gave up, “Fuck it Nat, I want Phil Coulson, and it’s my choice. Okay.” 

“Very eloquent.” Phil drawled, then continued, “Given the allegations and our power imbalance…………Agent Romanov,” he broke off, and took some slow breaths, “according to SHIELD regulation 126.525. I declare my intent to take Agent Clinton Francis Barton as my partner; he has in front of you.” He stopped again screwing his eyes tight, almost in pain, trying to calm his breathing again and bit back a moan. Slowly he opened them his voice trembling, “that he is giving himself to me freely and without threat or manipulation.” He took another pause it was getting more and more difficult to think of anything else than how Clint would feel moving under him. But somehow he managed to centre himself and continue, “I give myself to him, fully and without reservation, undertaking to honour our contract, Agent Barton is my…” he flustered……. “My Clint.” 

“Your man,” Clint said firmly, “boyfriends are for 12 year old girls, I am your man…..Sir.” he added with a grin. 

Nat looked at each of them in turn and smiled fondly, “I hereby witness that the union between the two of you is within the regulations.” She kissed Clint and then Coulson and walked out and began to close the door behind her only to stop and with a less than lady like smirk saying “Oh and welcome to the pack Alpha, I’ll tell Sitwell to stand down.”

0-0-0-0-0

Clint would latter blame Nat, and she would just grin. His attention was fixed on her and that was the reason that he never saw his Alpha move, the next thing he knew he was flat on his back on the bed and Coulson was looming over him, with one arm pressed against his chest pinning him in place, trying to strip him one handed. 

Reaching up Clint wrapped a hand round the back of Coulson’s head, and drew him down, in a long searing kiss, as he revelled in the heavy press of his soon to be mate’s body against his. The chemical tainted scent was a pale imitation of what was now rolled off Coulson, and it made the wolf inside of him throw back his head and howl.

But he wasn’t going to make it easy for his mate, and with a surge of power, his hand protecting the older man’s head and neck as he flipped them over so that he could look down at Coulson with a leer. It was short lived as Coulson, repaid the moved with something down and dirty that got Clint face down on the bed.

Clint rolled his head to one side to give Coulson more room as he attacked the side of his neck with nips and kisses, small sparks of pain and pleasure, as Coulson’s body moved over him, setting his body on fire, hands caressing his shoulders, and biceps, words whispered in his ears that made him whimper, as Phil rutted against him, making throaty moans.

0-0-0-0-0

Later  
Phil, Clint savoured the name, as he lay in bed, had won the fight and taken him. His mate was a strong, but at the same time a considerate lover, the perfect alpha, that made Clint melt inside at his caressing touch, taking and holding him on the edge, until he had been shaking with need. When Phil had finally entered him, he knew that this was what he had been waiting for his whole life; he thought it couldn’t get any better, as Phil had held him through the aftershock of his orgasm. 

But he had been wrong, made almost speechless when Phil had looked down at him, kissing him, and asking him to take him. Clint knew the look on his face must have been one of bewilderment, because Phil had kissed him again, his hands moving over his shoulders and chest, soothing and calming him. Talking to him in that voice, the velvet over steel, alpha voice that made him listen, and understand. Phil had said no matter what they were in SHIELD, here like this they were equals, he had whispered in his ear asking him to fuck him. Clint knew that he would deny his mate nothing, whispering back that he would never fuck Phil only make love to him, even as he was only just beginning to learn the difference in his mates arms. 

He had taken the utmost care in preparing Phil; this was a privilege, one that he would never take for granted. Each sigh and groan Phil had made was burned into his memory, and when he had finally sheathed himself in him, Clint had known sheer bliss for the first time in his life. Surrounded by his mate’s warmth, he felt protected as Phil had held him in his arms, as they joined in the most intimate way possible.

When, Phil had bared his throat to him, not in submission never that, but to allow him to mark him as his mate, it was a need that even Clint hadn’t been aware of. He had felt emotions that he had never dreamed of. 

The moment his teeth had bitten into Phil’s neck the older man had cum, his cry a breathy gasp, his hand gripping the back of his neck holding him in place. Clint had felt the tears running down his face, splashing onto Phil as he had come so hard inside of him, he had nearly blacked out, clinging onto his mate as if his very life depended on it. He had come round to Phil’s fingers carding through his hair petting him. It was with a sigh that he had lowered his head to nuzzle at Coulson’s throat, licking the wound. 

Any shame he might have felt of those tears were gone when Phil had reached up and brushed them away, kissing him gently on the lips, his voice soft and reassuring, the words washing over him, comforting him. 

The bite mark would never be on display but he and Nat would know that it was there, under those pristine suits, and that was enough.

0-0-0-0-0-0

Nat had good hearing, with her back to the wall by the side of the door, at each gasp and groan, her heart had filled, and her brother was now mated. Tears that she had thought had long ago withered and dried away, slipped down her cheeks. 

At Clint’s soft call she had come into the room, his body was still bracketing those of his sleeping mate, he had looked up, and with a small move of the head called her over. 

Nat stripped to her bra and panties, and padded bare foot over to the bed, tilting her head as she inhaled the scent of their bonding mixed with the musky scent of sex. She slipped into the bed and cuddled up to Phil, savouring the warmth of his naked body. Nosing at the crook of his neck where his scent was the thickest. 

To her surprise, Phil turned over in Clint’s arms, she pulled back only to be caught by Coulson and guided back into his arms, fitting her body warm and snug against him, belly to belly, chest to chest, as Clint spooned behind him, his strong arms holding his mate flush to his chest, as Coulson held Nat.

Leaning forward she rested her forehead against Phil’s, closing her eyes and just savoured the feeling of her Alpha holding her close. 

0-0-0-0-0  
Nat woke after a light sleep, to see Coulson awake, his smile was one that she had only been privileged to see on a few occasions. It was a genuine smile, not the one he used when he was blending in, and that warmed her. 

“Clint’s scent has changed.”

“And this means?”

“When he mated with your last night, he became a full Alpha, an Alpha who will kneel to no one but you.”

“That is what Johnson was trying to get the Director to buy into.” Phil sounded sceptical.  
“But it happens to be true, for Clint there is no Alpha but you.” 

Phil exhaled slowly, and then reached up and placed his fingertips, where Clint had bitten him last night when he had entered him, after so slowly and lovingly opening him up. 

“Phil.” Nat prompted him bring him back from the very pleasant memories, of the night before, she gently rubbed her body against him and nuzzled his jaw and the bite mark, at the moment it was like catnip to her. Laughing softly Phil wrapped his arms round her, holding her close, one hand lightly carding through her hair, as she lowered her head to rest on his chest. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

Phil got out of a bed that reeked of sex, and padded naked to the corner of the room, and looked up at a Captain America framed picture, it was an original World War II USO poster. He reached up and removed a micro camera from the frame.

“If I find any more there will be consequences, I will expect to have the master copy of the surveillance footage on my desk in the morning, and it will be destroyed.”

He took the camera into the small kitchen area and dropped it down the waste disposal and hit the switch. Making his way back to the bed he crawled back to lay in the centre and immediately his young mates cuddled up to him again, making soft contented huffing sounds. 

The next morning

The shower was way too small for the three of them, but somehow they made it work, so when they left the apartment some time later, Coulson was dressed in one of his immaculate black suits, with Nat and Clint flanking him in their hybrid state. 

Dr Pearson hurried down the corridor towards then, but before he could open his mouth, Phil put him down hard and fast, without even breaking stride. 

Together they headed for Director Palmer’s office, seeing the three of them coming down the corridor was enough to make the other agents scatter.

Director Palmer watched them approach his office, through his surveillance system with a sigh that developed into a hacking cough; he took a drink and then patted at his lips, with his handkerchief. He pressed the intercom, “Please send Sub-Director Coulson through.” 

Palmer leaned back in his chair, this was going to be interesting, depending how pissed off Coulson and his attack dogs were, he might have to throw them Doctor Pearson, as a chew toy, since they had already taken one bite out of him already.

“Ah, Sub Director.” Palmer said, and waved a hand at the seat in front of him.


	14. Chapter 14

Present

When Clint landed the Quinjet next to the Bus he saw the Stark Industry Quinjet has arrived first he wasn’t surprised, the Avengers might be a dysfunctional family but family all the same. As he and Nat walked up the ramp into the Bus, he saw Tony, Steve and Bruce stood at the top of the ramp and asked. “Any luck with the broadcast.” 

“Whoever is doing the broadcast is good, the kid Skye managed to get some leg work done on it, but she doesn’t have Jarvis, the problem is we’re going to need another broadcast to take it to the wire.” Tony told him. But there was no hiding his concern as he added “do you think Agent can take another one of those freaks down.” 

Tony saw the look Simmons gave him as she approached with a tablet in her hand. “Don’t look like that kid, Clint here is a pure breed, Talbots are a mutant variation, they always remind me of Chows on two legs.” He supressed a shudder, “just as bad as that picture of dogs playing poker.” 

Nat ignored him as she answered Tony’s question, “Senior Agent Coulson, has trained with us, he is our handler,” she allowed the possessiveness she felt for him to come through in her voice as she added, “so yes he should survive another encounter, but ….”

Tony nodded, “Yeah I get the message, okay kiddies, let’s get ready when that broadcast comes in I want it.”

48 hours later the second broadcast came through, it was the same set up, with the cages, lit by harsh white lights. Clint leaned close to the screen, examining it carefully.

This fight was harder, the Talbot werewolf was more skilled, but Phil still took him down, but as soon as he killed one, another werewolf was thrown into the cage, the result was the same, but it took him longer and Phil took a claw swipe to his leg, he was limping when he was dragged from the cage.

Clint’s eyes never left a screen as he demanded “tell me you got it.”

Tony looked up from the computer, “Jarvis, tell the man.” 

“Agent Coulson had been located Sir, I am sending the co-ordnance to the on board navigational computer, I have started on the pre-flight check, wheels up in 20 minters Sir. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

48 hours later

Phil was dragged from his cell, he was running a low grade fever from the claw wound, and hadn’t eaten since his last fight, pain was radiating from his leg. 

All he knew was that he had to keep buying time; slowly he straightened up taking the machete that was thrust into his hands. He looked towards the camera, he didn’t want to die, but it was something that happened in his line of work, and he had had a good run. He just hoped that Clint and Nat would be alright. 

Pulling himself to his full height he entered in the cage, this time when there other cage door opened there was a long pause, the Hydra commander, was yelling down his radio demanding to know where the werewolf was, he broke off in mid-sentence as the creature entered the cage this one was seven foot tall and the thing of nightmares. 

In the bus, Skye was sat worrying one of her nails, as she watched the creature from hell start toward their boss. “Where are they, you said that Hawkeye and the Black Widow would get there in time.” She all but demanded of May.  
May didn’t answer straight away, she knew the Avengers were out there, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Fury had ordered them to obey them, she would have been down there with Ward, but orders were orders. But it didn’t mean she had to like it, suddenly she frowned and leaned forward to get a better look at the image on the screen. 

“What the hell are they waiting for,” Skye demanded, as the creature continued to circle Coulson, she was getting more alarmed by each second that passed, as the creature started to circle closer and closer each time. 

It was then the werewolf attacked, and Skye was on her feet before she realized that she had moved, as Coulson threw himself to the floor, the creature bounded over him and smashed through the other cage door.

Back on his feet Coulson followed the creature out of the cage, and then people began to die. 

0-0-0-0-0-0

The camera rocked on its mounting as more guards rushed in to try and subdue Coulson, and kill the werewolf, then glass was raining down as another werewolf was dropping from the roof, into the battle. The fight was brutal as only a werewolf could fight, as a spry of arterial blood splattered across the camera’s lens. 

There was a loud roar and Hulk came into the fight taking out the wall of the warehouse, and ploughing into the fight, explosions could be heard as Iron man and no doubt Captain America was helping to mop up any fleeing Hydra soldiers. 

Finally everything went quiet, the camera was now hanging loosely from its mounting, but in the picture they saw Coulson, he limped towards the two werewolves, blood and gore staining their claws and muzzles. Immediately the werewolves wrapped themselves round him, nuzzling against his neck and throat, claws resting on his hips and waist, when the picture died. 

For the next hour there was radio silence, until May received a call from the now incoming Quinjet. Coulson entered the bus flanked by the Avengers. Skye started forward only to be caught by May, she could see how agitated Hawk and Widow were, and like that Skye could die really quickly. 

Coulson paused only long enough to thank them for their help in rescuing him, Hawk and Widow allowed Simmons’ to check and dress his wounds, but he was immediately ushered to his bedroom afterwards. The door closed firmly behind them, but not before Clint had lashed out at Skye for getting too close to Coulson in an attempt to hug him. 

The people on the Bus might think that Clint was being protective of Coulson, and they would have been correct, but he was also protecting them from Coulson. He and Nat both knew that the Surgeon was out of his box, they had seen the way he had killed at the warehouse, his body may be human, but like this his heart was pure werewolf. 

Once the door was closed, Nat and Clint were all over Phil, stripping him quickly, and leading him to the bed, nuzzling, caressing as they moved over and round him, careful of his injuries. 

Just then his stomach rumbled, Nat and Clint froze, and then burst out laughing, Nat slipped out the room, returning with bread, cheese, meats and fruit. Cutting the food into small slivers she crawled onto the bed, carefully straddling Phil, settling on her heels, as she hand fed him the food, along with slips of water, the long dormant maternal instincts of the Alpha female coming out, like this Nat was more dangerous then she had ever been. 

The next morning the three of them failed to appear, to Skye’s annoyance, the others especially the Avengers seemed prepared to wait it out, but Skye’s concern was real enough for Simmons’s to decide to check on them. Coulson’s office door was locked, but with Ward’s help she managed to get in, the office had been changed into the bedroom configuration, and she had only got two foot into the room, when there was an ear splitting scream, and in the half-light a figure powered off the bed. Simmons’s didn’t have a chance to do anything other than throw her arm up to protect her face as she was knocked to the floor, and Nat loomed over her. 

One clawed hand circled her throat and the other splayed across her face ready to tear it off. 

“Widow, no…” Coulson’s voice cut across the room. 

Nat didn’t move, “Come here, Nat…. I need you.” Coulson added. This time Nat turned her head to look at him, gracefully she got up, and went back to the bed, crawling towards him on all fours; her hands pressing his shoulders back down as she leaned in a nuzzled at his shoulder, throat and jaw, rubbing up against him. 

Even with his whole attention on stroking and petting Nat, Phil said, “don’t move Simmons,” reaching up he turned Nat’s face back to him, when she tried to turn back to Simmons. All the time, Phil kept one hand firmly clutching Clint’s wrist keeping him in place, he pitched his voice softer, coaxing his lovers back from their protective stance, rather than go alpha on them. 

Ward appeared at the door, and Clint roared, deep and throaty, “Ward get Simmons out of here, keep low to the floor, and don’t look at me or them.” Phil ordered, working to keep his lovers near him, even though Nat wasn’t his lover sexually, she was as close to him as any lover, and had a special place in his heart. 

Once Ward has got Simmons’s clear, Phil released his grip on Clint’s wrist to allow him to lock and barricade the door, before returned back to their bed. 

0-0-0-0-0

Tony poked the bacon on his plate, and shook his head in disgust what this place needed was better catering facility, he saw the way Fitz was fusing round Simmons when she was dragged out of the office and exchanged a look with Bruce and Steve.

When Tony went to open his mouth it was Bruce who cut across him, he understood more than most the strain of keeping a monster inside of him. 

“They were lucky, with Agent Coulson injured Nat and Clint are on edge and that could go one of two ways. They….”

Tony interrupted “so it’s either hot werewolf sex or they kill everyone that even looks at Agent the wrong way.”

“If you want to put that way,” Bruce said, then to Steve he added “basically correct.” 

Steve drained his coffee, “then I suggest we summon the Quinjet and get ready to take him back to New York, and their territory, before this plane runs red.”

“Very astute Cap.” Tony drawled.

“I do listen to Bruce you know.” He gave the other Avenger a smile, “Stark.” 

“Cap,” with a sign that was more for show than anything else, Tony stood up draining his coffee “Jarvis start the pre-flight check….”

“Yes Sir,” the AI’s voice came over the loudspeaker system in the Bus even as the large plane began to gently bank as the new course was programmed in, one which would rendezvous them with the Stark Quinjet in mid-air. Tony sat working on his Stark pad, by the time the Quinjet landed back at the Tower all the final paperwork would be complete transferring Coulson to Avenger handler and their SHIELD liaison. The Avengers were now complete. 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tales of the Dark Side with continue......


End file.
